


Homeless Innocence

by ErinPrimette



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Reapers, Earthborn (Mass Effect), Espionage, F/M, Homelessness, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, Mentor/Protégé, Mystery solving, Nightmares, Paragade (Mass Effect), Smut, Spectre training, Suicide Attempt, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2018-12-15 22:39:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 78,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11815620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinPrimette/pseuds/ErinPrimette
Summary: Jane Shepard has been homeless on Earth for most of her life until Saren passed by one day during the winter. She returned a package to him which he accidentally dropped simply out of sheer kindness. Realizing that she acted different from most of the humans he encountered, Saren decided to return the favor by taking her in so he could at least give her a second chance at life. Little did they know, this would be the start of a close bond that would prove Saren's impression on humans.





	1. Girl in the Streets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KittieValentine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittieValentine/gifts).



> Whelp, Dr. Compass and I are at it again with another Mass Effect fanfic! I had this idea in my head for a while and I wanted to write it out, so here we go.

Saren regretted accepting Nihlus's request right now.

The well-aged turian Spectre trudged through the streets and would occasionally check his datapad to ensure he was in the right direction. He couldn't help but shiver in the winter cold as snow drifted to the ground in the city. He didn't think he'd set foot on Earth, but he remembered that he had a package to deliver to an important official of the Systems Alliance. He took one brief moment to check the address in his omni-tool before he kept venturing forth. He wouldn't have minded if he was delivering a gift to any of his or Nihlus's relatives for some special occasion, but the thought of being reduced to delivering packages to strangers irritated him. This was _**not**_ why he applied for the position of Spectre.

He didn't seem to pay attention to his surroundings until he felt a gloved hand tug him by his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Irritated, he glanced over his shoulder and noticed a young woman with disheveled red hair covered by an oversized beret while she held out the package, the turian Spectre shuddering when he realized that he dropped it without knowing about it. Was that why she was trying to get his attention?

"S-Sir?" she stammered, "is this yours?"

The way the young woman gave a soft expression left Saren staring in disbelief. He didn't remember meeting a human that would be this generous. With no other way to respond, Saren lightly plucked the package out of the human's hands.

"T-Thank you," he muttered.

The young human woman didn't respond, yet she gave a gentle smile before she released her grip on the Spectre's wrist and turned away, trudged along the sidewalk and sat down before she leaned back against the brick wall. Saren started walking along the sidewalk again, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the sickly young woman hugging her legs to her chest and nestling her hands between her thighs and her calves to keep them warm. Saren stared at her with disbelief and confusion. Why was she kind to him? Weren't humans supposed to be arrogant and self-centered? Yet, she wasn't like that at all. How strange…

The young woman took a moment to adjust her beret so it wouldn't fall off before she hugged her legs again. If anything, it appeared that she was about to fall asleep in the snow. Wait, wouldn't that be fatal for her? Saren took a moment to scan his surroundings and examined other humans struggling to survive in the streets. He didn't see such a problem when he occasionally visited the slums on Palaven. Was there no program that would assist humans in need? Even if he wanted to hate humans that much, he had a sneaky suspicion that something wasn't right. He returned his gaze to the young woman he encountered. It wouldn't be fair to just give back nothing.

"Ma'am," Saren called over, "does this city have a shelter you can stay at?"

The human shook her head.

"It doesn't matter anyway. I'm just trying to survive another day," she answered.

Saren stiffened at her response. Now, while he was eager to get out of the cold weather, he still didn't have an excuse to leave her behind. He knelt down until his face was closer to hers, much to her confusion.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Perhaps you deserve a second chance," Saren stated solemnly, "why don't you come with me?"

With that, Saren wrapped his talons around the young woman's wrist and hoisted her to her feet, her eyes widened in bewilderment.

"W-Wait, but how…?" she started to protest.

Saren started strolling down the street with the human in tow. She started glancing around their surroundings, her free hand trembling as anxiety sent chills down her spine.

"I-I'm terribly sorry for bothering you, sir," she continued.

"Don't apologize," Saren interrupted.

By then, Saren and the young woman stopped at a crosswalk. From there, the Spectre figured he would reach his destination in a couple more blocks. While waiting for the traffic to change in his favor, he tilted his head towards the human in his grasp.

"What do you call yourself?" Saren asked.

The human gave Saren a blank stare, not expecting the sincerity in his eyes let alone ask for her name. Not many people passing by would ask for her name for a benign reason. Yet, maybe it wouldn't do any good to just hesitate in her response.

"They…call me Jane, sir," she stuttered.

Saren raised a browplate.

"No last name?" Saren paused.

Jane shook her head.

"I see," he grumbled sadly.

His mind drifted for too long when he sharply shook the thoughts out of his head.

"I'll be taking you to my shuttle," Saren continued, "it won't be much farther."

Saren crossed the street and sauntered down the sidewalks with Jane in tow. Once he laid his eyes on an office building, he made his way inside.

"Just stay here, I've got a job to finish," Saren cautiously settled her down on the bench, "think you'll be safe here?"

Jane gazed into Saren's eyes before she nodded.

"I-I think so," Jane answered.

Jane went back to hugging her arms to herself in an attempt to stave off the cold. Patting her on the shoulder, Saren calmly walked over to the elevator doors and pressed the button to go up. Stepping inside, he listened to the dull hum of the machinery pulling the car up. While it was clearly primitive in design, it was embarrassingly faster than most elevators on the Citadel. Stepping out, he cautiously looked down both sides of the elevator, checking the corridors for lone striders in the night. Once the coast was clear, Saren ambled through the hallway and stopped at the door to his left. He wasted no time as he pressed on the doorbell. He continued to look nervously down the corridors, left and right for possible eye-witnesses. The door opened to reveal a human of Japanese descent. He was lightly graying, had a light beard, and was wearing his civies.

"I'm glad you arrived on such short notice, Spectre," Admiral Kahoku greeted.

"All in good time. Here's the package, everything still intact," Saren greeted, offering the package.

Admiral Kahoku plucked the package out of Saren's hands and examined it before giving Saren a deep bow.

"Thank you, Spectre. You have no idea what this means for the Alliance."

Saren chuckled lightly.

"No need to act overly gracious about it," Saren dismissed, "and the name is Arterius. Saren Arterius, Admiral. I know what this means for the both of us, now you have a safe evening."

Saren sighed with relief as he returned to the elevator to make his return to the lobby. Saren made a glance at Jane, who still remained on the bench even with no one else in the lobby. The Spectre nodded to her, prompting her to stand to her feet. Little did they know, police officers passed by the office building in search of criminals.

Picking her up in his arms, he stepped out of the building and began to make his way back to the nearby spaceport, content that his job was done. Quickly making his way through an alley, the two were greeted by two police officers at the other end of the path in full winter gear. Growling, Saren tightened his grip on Jane in the form of a protective embrace.

"S-Sir?" Jane whispered in confusion.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the one on the left mockingly greeted, "if it isn't Jane and a turian! How are you doing tonight?"

Saren had multiple questions circling about his head concerning why local law enforcement would even be concerned with Jane. However, he wasn't content on letting the malnourished and helpless girl be apprehended.

"Evening officers, I'm Spectre Arterius of the Citadel Council," Saren made an excuse, "I'm currently pursuing a lead, and this woman in my arms is a loose end left behind by my target. I'm sure whatever trouble you two have with her, I can assure you I can take her off your hands. In fact, I have the authority to do so. Also, turians aren't accustomed to colder climates, so if you two would be so kind as to let me go on my way, the two of us won't be a concern to you anymore."

The officer to the right let out a scoff.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever skullface," the officer to the right spat, "listen, Jane already has a list of offenses she's going to do time for. Plus, she doesn't have documentation in the system to prove her citizenship, she can't get a job, register for proper housing, and city fines make sure that she stays off the street. If you're so hellbent on the law yourself, Spectre, then you'd be better off handing her to us."

That was stupid. How could a species make it practically illegal to be poor in this city while giving practically no leverage to those who are infinitely impoverished to make their way up in the system? Keeping his eye on the officers, he felt the snow underneath them with his foot. She may be fragile as is, but she could at least survive the fall with whatever cushioning there was.

"Aaaah, fuck it!" he growled.

Dropping her to the snow, he quickly drew his side arm and shot both officers square in the forehead while they themselves were still reaching for their own guns. He quickly pulled Jane out of the snow.

"You all right?" he asked.

Jane slowly nodded, even if she stared in disbelief.

"I don't understand," Jane stammered, "I was hoping you'd just keep moving, but you didn't."

Softness in his eyes, Saren held Jane close.

"I thought the two officers made it apparent that wasn't going to happen unless I handed you off to them. Or was my translator glitching?"

Jane didn't respond, so Saren seized this chance to sprint along the sidewalk, keeping a firm grip on the human in his arms. It didn't take long before they reached the entrance to the spaceport.

"Didn't think so," Saren mused to himself.

Little else passed between them as Saren smuggled her through customs. Walking aboard his personal shuttle, he stepped into his quarters to lay her down in the covers. Buying some levo-based meals at a stand before leaving, he dropped the plastic bag of food in her room before returning to the pilot seat. He turned on the ignition and took control before the shuttle took off. He looked behind him towards where his quarters were. The lights inside were still off, and there was no noise going on inside. He'd checked her numerous times, finding little more than a few stolen credit chits and a shiv.

"What am I going to do with you?" he muttered.

Jane didn't respond, but she nestled herself under the blanket, an empty packet of levo-based food stashed into the trash bin with the other packets still in the bag on the nightstand. Figuring he shouldn't disturb her, Saren returned to his pilot's seat and maneuvered the shuttle across space. During the flight, he had to travel through the Mass Relays to warp his shuttle out of the Alliance System, starting with the Arcturus Relay. By the time he reached the Serpent Nebula, he traveled to the Widow system and reached the Citadel Station, where he landed his shuttle in the docking bay.

Saren made no hesitation quickly running Jane into Huerta Hospital, entrusting her to the medics he knew pretty well. While he waited to hear for the report of Jane's health, he quickly typed up his report to the Council on his omni-tool. The Spectre made sure to identify the details required before he sent the report. Now all he had to do was wait, even if it took a few hours.

"Spectre Arterius?" an asari nurse stepped out from behind the receptionist area to greet him, "we've done what we can for her for now. Based on her physiology and health, she was heavily malnourished by the time you'd found her. From what I can assume, you'd managed to give her enough nutritional value to stay alive when you left Earth."

"Right," Saren responded, "so, she bears no identification marks?"

The asari nurse shook her head.

"But," the asari nurse mentioned, "we did take a genetic sample, so we might be able to identify who her parents are."

Saren nodded in satisfaction before he stood to his feet. Upon cue, the asari nurse gestured the Spectre to follow her down the hallway, making a few turns at some corners until they reached the lab. From there, the asari nurse placed the chip into a slot, causing the table to emit a projector before she scrolled through the database in search of matching results. During that process, Saren wondered if anyone in the Alliance knew of the girl he found. He snapped out of his silence when a photographic image of a young child appeared on the projection.

"Is that her?" Saren asked.

"No," the asari nurse shook her head, "it might be the girl's mother."

Saren sighed before he stepped up to the holographic projector, reading the profile before he looked up her name in a query search. From what he could gather, this Hannah Shepard in question didn't have as much recognition apart from a birth certificate from Hannah's parents and a missing report.

"Strange," Saren muttered to himself.

Jane had been placed in an otherwise empty hospital room at the end of a row. She had an IV drip tapping into her wrist, she'd been switched out of her street clothes, and her various, infected injuries had been patched and tended to. Currently, she was asleep, looking much more peaceful than she had been when Saren initially met her.

"And what of her father?" he asked.

The asari nurse scrolled through the database again until she found a profile of a middle-aged human wearing a suit of armor from the Blue Suns. However, when she tried to access what documentation he might have, she came up short.

"Something tells me this man doesn't want to be found," the asari nurse sighed.

"No profile?"

The nurse simply nodded.

"Well, I'll be off," Saren sighed, "I've got some errands I want to do. I'll give you my omni-tool contact information, keep me up-to-date on her current condition. I have some plans for her."

Saren provided the contact information to the asari nurse, made one last glance at Jane and then stepped out of the room. He knew it was a cold, dead winter on Earth. Still feeling the bitter winds licking the back of his neck, he opted to go to a cafe and get something warm to drink. On his way out the hospital, he quickly typed a message and sent it:

_{Nihlus, just got back from Earth, want to meet up?}_

Saren could only lean his back against the wall to take a moment of rest. Minutes later, Nihlus sent a response:

_{Sure! At the cafe we stop by, right?}_

_{Yeah. I'll be there at bottom of the hour.}_

Saren quickly made his way to a small, open cafe out in the wards. It was in fact the cafe he initially met Nihlus at. The kid's unit was on shore leave, and he'd been heavily arguing with his superior officer about the mission. Nihlus had been sketchy about the details, but he was very headstrong, and wasn't the type to hold back. He even went out of his way to actively humiliate his superior, but nothing that would have him dishonorably discharged.

Sitting down, he quickly ordered tea before reclining in his seat. Taking a sip, all Saren could do for now was wait for his protege to arrive.

"Hey, Saren! Nice to see you didn't get lost and freeze like a popsicle!" Nihlus obnoxiously greeted as he strolled to his table.

Nihlus was clearly more excited about the introduction of humans than he was along with wearing a large human shirt printed with a group of musicians which were named something that roughly translated to 'the Spinning Rocks' and listening to music he could only assume was from Earth.

"I see you're having fun. I assume you completed your mission?" Saren returned.

Nihlus simply dismissed his question with a snorting laugh.

"Spirits, you're so salty!" Nihlus prattled on, "it was a bunch of human tourists being rounded up and shipped to the Terminus, come on! So what if they are indirectly the cause of Desolas' death?"

"I'd like to remind you I don't miss that bastard one bit," Saren groaned, pressing his forehead into his palm.

"Then what's the matter?" Nihlus continued to tease, ordering his own drink, "is it because the humans are, as they'd say it, the 'fresh children in the district?'"

"The term is 'new kids on the block', and yes it is. I know it's a process we all had to endure at some point, but the least they could do is not cause so much collateral damage while they're at it?" Saren replied.

Saren had been running around doing missions to help the Humans Systems Alliance find their place in the community for six months now, which had quickly become gratuitous. For the most part, he'd been able to put his grievances aside, but was more inclined to let the facade slide around non-critical individuals. Still, he snapped out of his thoughts and went back to his tea.

"There is…one human that has caught my interest most recently," Saren muttered.

Nihlus' smile only grew.

"Oh? Dr. Hardass got himself a friend? Who is it?" Nihlus grinned.

"A friend in _**need**_ ," Saren growled.

Nihlus shuddered before he deflated from his excitement.

"Oh, right," Nihlus blurted.

"She was some homeless woman on Earth who was penniless, injured, and on the verge of starving to death in a system where she could gain no vertical momentum. I'm not made of stone," Saren continued.

Nihlus' mandibles twitched as he raised a browplate.

"A woman?" he paused.

"Stick your dick elsewhere, Nihlus," Saren grumbled, "it'll be a much better investment."

"Right," Nihlus sighed, "I'm just amazed such a world like that could be this bad."

"I know. The climate was much worse a decade and a half ago until the salarians helped them clean up their planet. If it's one thing I can at least respect the humans for is that they left their system and fought against us with practically nothing to lose," Saren agreed, "they put tooth and claw into those three months."

"What do you know? Time does wear down all things. Even the hardest, most dense rocks," Nihlus chortled.

"Shut up," Saren grumbled.

Nihlus didn't respond, so he ordered his favorite beverage instead.

"So…this woman. What exactly do you plan on doing with her?"

Saren paused for a moment. He didn't think of what he would do with her since he took her out of Earth. He silently reminded himself that without any documents proving she existed, she currently wouldn't have a chance to thrive anywhere.

"Nothing much," Saren shrugged, "I'll…most likely ensure she has a new life here."

Nihlus calmly accepted his drink as his signature shit-eating grin grew back on his face.

"Quite the gentleman," Nihlus commented.

Saren ignored Nihlus's response and went back to his tea. All he could think about at the moment was how he would have to prepare his apartment for a human guest.


	2. Citadel Immigration Preparations

_It was a windy, drab fall evening, with crispy brown leaves blowing in the wind, the sky filled with gray clouds blotting the sky, and a storm brewing in the distance. Her backpack weighed heavily on her back, as did her thick rain coat, but she was distracted by what she got to bring home from school that day. It was a baked clay sculpture she had crafted the day before, and was bringing it home today after it had been put in the kiln. She continued to to skip along the sidewalk to her apartment block, hopeful to see what her mother's reaction would be._

_"Evening, Mr. Mather!" she greeted as she entered the front lobby._

_The building was old, decaying, and far from meeting building regulations. The place was cheap, so most of the residents could afford to scrape by with whatever they made._

_Mather had a face like a pecan pie, warm, dark, wrinkly, and would smile every time one looked upon it._

_"Evening, child. I assume school went fine?"_

_"Yeah! Look what I brought home to show mommy!" she lifted the clay statue up for the elder man to see._

_She practically saw the doorman as a grandfather figure._

_"I'm sure she'll love it. She's home by the way. Your mother had an argument earlier with one of her clients, but I think it's all sorted out now."_

_She sprinted up the stairs with unlimited enthusiasm, racing to her home on the top floor of the building. Running up, she could distantly hear the ambient noises of the other houses around her, like a piano, a TV at full volume, a couple laughing, and a man playing a guitar with a crowd of children as she arrived on her floor. Pushing through the ajar door, she burst in._

_"Mommy! Look at what I made at school! Mommy…! Mommy?" she cried out._

_There was an open draft flowing through their small apartment, with distant lightning illuminating the other room through the open window. Walking through, she could see the other room had been splashed with what she thought to be red paint. The sheets had been thrown about, the wardrobe had been tossed to the floor, the bathroom door hung off its hinges, and her mother had been lying on the floor on her side, away from her._

_"Mommy? I'm home. Wake up!" she ran to her side, noticing the large puddle of red paint pooling underneath her._

_"Mommy? Are you sick?" she stuttered._

_She pulled her onto her back to reveal the numerous stab wounds on her chest, complete with a large gash across her throat. She unconsciously dropped her sculpture, shattering it as she got on her knees, begging her mother to respond._

_"Mommy! Wake up! Please! Mommy! Mommy! Wake up!" she desperately yelled, shaking her deceased mother as tears began to streak down her face._

_As the storm picked up outside the window, she gave one last look at her blood-stained hands before getting up, turning for the door, and bolting._

_She nearly stumbled a few times rushing down the steps in a shocked panic. She sobbed uncontrollably as she continued to ran, causing a few of her neighbors to peek their heads out to see what the commotion was about. Mr. Mather got up from his seat when he saw her enter the lobby from the stairs._

_"Child, what happened? Where are you going, darling?!" he demanded._

_It was too late. She rushed out into the rain, simply focusing on putting distance behind her. She didn't look back, didn't go to the school, she just ran._

_She ran._

_She ran._

_She ran._

* * *

She woke with a harrowing gasp. Eyes widening and glued to the ceiling, she could only find herself in a hospital room. But the traces of the memory still lingered, leaving her a little nauseous to the point where she was about to panic. Gasping for breath, Jane nestled her head into the pillow and closed her eyes, trying to block out the painful memory. She merely snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps coming into the room.

"Hello, are you feeling well?" she found herself facing an asari nurse with a salarian assistant working behind her.

Having calmed herself, Jane slowly nodded.

"Your pulse greatly picked up a couple minutes ago," the asari nurse explained, "you had us a bit worried."

"It…it was just a dream," Jane mumbled.

Nodding in agreement, Jane sat upright in her bed.

"You were brought in the other day by Spectre Arterius in the poor condition he found you back on Earth," the salarian explained as he turned around, "until you are well, you are to remain bedridden. Simply put, you were nearing the drain when you first came in."

Jane nodded, only to remind herself that she didn't get the name of the turian she met.

"Is Arterius a turian?" Jane asked.

"The Spectre with whitish-gray plates is Saren Arterius. He said he'd come by to pick you up once you finished recovering," the asari answered.

Confident with confirming her recognition of Saren, Jane rested her head on the pillow.

"So where is he now?" Jane asked.

"He's on the Presidium doing some paperwork with the human ambassador. He said he might check by a few more times this week," the salarian answered, "for now, just get rest, you'll need it."

Jane only nodded in agreement. She didn't think she'd actually leave Earth or even catch interest from a turian with such a higher rank than her. For now, she simply closed her eyes and allowed herself to doze off.

* * *

"Perhaps she could eventually find a position at C-Sec?" the human ambassador proposed, "considering she is properly cleaned up, she could be a beneficial individual to society."

"Maybe," Saren hummed, "so you are certain her profile doesn't show up anywhere on the Alliance's Systems? And her parents?"

"Like you'd found earlier, her genetic mother had been declared legally dead a decade earlier," the human ambassador replied, "and no one in the current system both alive and dead match her genetically to be a possible father. She herself has no registration."

This wouldn't be easy.

"I'll see what I can do to get her citizenship and get the ball rolling," Saren offered, "what she wants to do is up to her."

With that, the human ambassador nodded in agreement.

Saren hastily left the office. He'd recently bought an average omni-tool, and would need to head to the immigration office to start getting Jane settled. She may not have much in the way of a profile, but he could still turn in her form on the go, so all he had to do was ask her directly and fill in the blanks. Besides, he was a Spectre, so he could do that. Catching a taxi, he ordered the driver to Huerta. While the taxi hovered through the air traffic, Saren turned on his omni-tool to check on Jane's progress.

According to the asari nurse's report, her injuries had healed and she was getting the nutrients she needed, however, she was still taking time from a harsh fever she was suffering from when he'd found her. Satisfied with the update, Saren turned off his omni-tool.

Paying the fee for his ride, he stepped outside and entered the front lobby of the hospital. Informing the receptionist of his visit, he quickly strolled down the hallway to Jane's room. Knocking as he entered, he calmly approached the ill human at the end of the row.

"Hello, Jane. I just had a few questions to ask."

Upon hearing his voice, Jane turned her head towards him and sat up.

"Saren?" Jane paused.

Saren calmly dragged up a chair and sat down in it before pulling out a datapad.

"Okay, first things first. Here is an omni-tool for you," Saren began, "you'll need it for much of your daily life, whether it's paper work, making a call, using the extranet, identification, and use of your finances. Secondly, I'm doing what I can to help you get instated."

Saren calmly put a small device onto her left arm before showing her how to turn it on and off. Jane took a few minutes getting used to the basics of using the omni-tool on her wrist.

"I had talked with the human ambassador about your identity. While there isn't much, I'm a Spectre. I'm sure I can take a few liberties as to what is and isn't accurate," Saren continued, "hopefully, that'll be fine with you?"

"Yes," Jane answered.

"So far, the hospital has helped fill in a large portion of the paperwork concerning your physical appearance as well as provide a rough estimate to your birthdate and current age. The ambassador helped identify your mother, and I'll just leave off referring to your father as John Doe…or at least that's what the ambassador said," Saren continued, "right now, could you tell me where you were raised and what your full name is?"

Jane flexed her fingers nervously.

"I'm trying to remember my last name," she said, "if I even have one."

Saren sighed with distraught.

"What we do have is your mother's full name: Hannah Shepard. Perhaps your mother's maiden name would be sufficient?" he casually proposed.

Jane almost cringed when her childhood memory returned for a brief second, but she maintained her composure.

"I'll accept the offer," Jane nodded.

Saren took note of Jane's reaction, his subvocals emitting a soft coo.

"I'm sorry if I bring up bad memories," Saren asked with caution, "but what do you remember about your childhood home? Where on Earth were you raised?"

Jane hesitated with her answer for a long moment.

"J-J-Jackson, Mississippi," Jane stuttered.

Saren nodded with confirmation.

"I'll see to it the final touches are done on my own, Jane Shepard. Thank you for your time. Are you feeling better?"

"A little," Jane shrugged.

Saren rose to his feet, adding final touches to the datapad.

"Hang in there. These are good people you've trusted your life with."

Upon reading the profile images and the names of the medics, Jane gave a soft smile.

"I appreciate it," she said softly.

Saren exited Huerta as he sent another message to Nihlus.

_{Are you available? I'd like to have the human move in to my apartment until I can find her a proper place.}_

Saren took a moment to wait for Nihlus's response.

_{I'm twenty-five minutes from your apartment. For the rhetoric you usually spit out, you sure are investing a lot in this woman.}_

While he strolled through the Presidium and kept mind of where he was going, Saren typed up another message.

_{I said it once, and I'll say it again: I'm not made of stone, and I'm not sure what else I could've done for her in the condition I found her in. She was ill, injured, and throwing a credit chit at her wouldn't solve all of her problems. Now stop complaining and head to my apartment. I'll meet you there.}_

Saren returned to his apartment to find Nihlus reclined on the couch.

"The code for the emergency key is _**still**_ 0451? Really?" Nihlus drawled.

Saren sighed before he approached Nihlus and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Help me start setting up the guest room for her," Saren instructed.

The two got to work setting the bed for Jane and moving the dextro-based meds and toiletries out of the guest bathroom and putting them in a hallway closet. It didn't take much long for the two Spectres to ensure the guest room was tidy before Saren started making a list of supplies they would have to get.

"Since you seem so accustomed to human culture already," Saren advised, "I'm going to hand you the responsibility to find something she might like to have in the pantry for her as well as several changes of clothes. I'll be getting her whatever medication and other items she'll need on a daily basis."

"You're sure have quite the list of necessary objects here," Nihlus commented, eyes scrolling down the list, "you're basically preparing to have her live here for quite a while."

"I…cannot truly predict how long I will have to rehabilitate her," Saren admitted.

Once they stepped out of the apartment, the two went their separate ways in the ward marketplace, looking for the list of needs Jane would have becoming accustomed to life on the Citadel now that she'd finally moved off of Earth. Saren had looked up human female anatomy the day after Jane had been brought to the Citadel in case he would need to help her directly. Plopping down the basket of goods at the cashier register, the asari gave him an awkward glance.

"These are human products," the asari clerk mentioned.

"Don't ask," Saren groaned, pulling out his omni-tool to pay the bill.

After receiving the payment, the asari placed the items into shopping bags and handed them to Saren.

"Well, then," she smiled, "have a nice day."

Saren walked out with at least six bags full of various products that were apparently necessary for daily function. It was embarrassing as he waltzed over to the taxi station, earning suspicious glances from people he waddled by on the way. Finally sitting down in a taxi, he quickly called Nihlus on his omni-tool.

"Hey, Nihlus," Saren asked, "did you get everything?"

 _{I still have a few more items left to buy,}_ Nihlus answered over the com-link.

"Good. I just finished up fetching everything on the essentials list. I'll see you back at the apartment," Saren finished.

He ended the call, but not before Nihlus managed to get through:

_{Already? What did you do? Run through the store?}_

Saren heard the last bit of the blurt from Nihlus, and he couldn't help but facepalm at the remark. Saren returned to his apartment, carefully carrying in everything he could and placing the bags around the living room. He collapsed on the couch with a sigh, before checking his omni-tool on the latest message from Huerta about Jane's health. Where was Nihlus? What was he still doing at the marketplace? After a moment of silence, Saren sent a message to his protege:

_{Nihlus, you'd better not have gotten yourself into trouble.}_

Nihlus quickly typed back.

_{You do realize I'm still picking through clothes, right? Finding the right food was easy, the clothes are a different issue altogether.}_

Saren groaned as he reached for the TV remote. He may have felt confident that he gave the information about Jane's measurements along the way to the market, but he suspected someone might be distracting Nihlus. For now, Saren switched to a news channel.

* * *

Nihlus was at a human clothes store like he said he was, however, his priorities had quickly shifted as to why he was there.

"So, you call this a bean-bag?" he asked with great curiosity.

Naturally, the headwear was designed for rounder heads, so Nihlus' fringe did cause the fabric to stretch.

"It's called a beanie," the store clerk corrected.

"Ooooh. A bean-y," Nihlus, unlike most of his older peers, was completely infatuated by human culture, style, and history.

Perhaps it was his overall ties to the Hierarchy and how distanced he became due to his own uprising, but he couldn't help but need to know more about it. Satisfied with piquing his curiosity, Nihlus bought a couple beanies of different colors.

Donning a navy blue hoodie, a black beanie, and some headphones he also purchased for himself to listen to music more privately, he strolled out with four bags, three for Jane, and one with fresh human apparel for himself. He would later trim it down to fit his own body at home after dropping off Jane's clothes.

By the time Nihlus reached the apartment, he burst through the door.

"Saren, I got the woman's clothes as ordered," Nihlus greeted, "should I put them in the guest room for the time being?"

Saren simply glared back with abject shock.

"Spirits! What happened to you?!" Saren exclaimed.

"Bought some human apparel. I think it looks nice," the protege answered, twirling about to see himself in the mirror.

All the while, all Saren could do was give Nihlus a blank stare. Nihlus quickly disappeared into the guest room before bolting back to the door.

"Well, Saren, I've got a few tweaks to make before I can properly wear this in public, but I'll see you later. Maybe when the human woman of yours has fully healed. Good day!"

Saren's mandibles flared as Nihlus closed the door behind him.

"Unbelievable," he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes.

* * *

With Jane still recovering, Saren received an assignment from the Council. He took several seconds to read the message after he heard the ping from his omni-tool:

_{Spectre Arterius,_

_We are aware you had only returned not a week ago, but we began to hear rumors from C-Sec about a Red Sand ring circulating from the Attican Traverse to the Citadel. Currently, C-Sec is experiencing some…difficulties working around regulations. Go in, collect everything they could find, and take out the ring, wherever it takes you._

_Sparatus}_

Saren quickly rose to his feet and made his way to the door. He paused one last time to look behind him, reflecting upon how unprepared he physically was to have another in his household. With little time to think of how he would have to adapt to the upcoming change, Saren stepped out of the apartment and sauntered through the Presidium, making his way to the docking bay. He planned on quickly heading to the wards to pass by the C-Sec HQ and follow the leads they couldn't pursue. If not, follow them to wherever they may lead. It didn't take long for the Spectre to stop by the headquarters and some across a turian C-Sec officer.

"Eeey, if it isn't the Grim Reaper himself!" Decian quipped, "what can I do for you, Spectre?"

"I'll be picking up your case with the Red Sand ring. Clearly, you guys are still stuck, going in circles, so I thought I'd pick up where you'd left off," Saren answered.

Decian nodded.

"Right, that infinite loop. If none of us can, then certainly a spook like you can."

Chellick led Saren into the headquarters, making their way towards his office.

"We've managed to follow the trail to some really seedy bars, but that's about it. I doubt you'd find any problem killing anything that moves in there. Chances are the ratio of 'innocents' to criminals is so small, you'd be doing the district a service more than you'd be committing a massacre. While you're there, do us all a favor and kill the club owner Fist."

Walking into the heart of the station, Chellick whipped out a datapad and handed it to Saren. The turian Spectre took a moment to read the profile.

"As one of the humans around C-Sec says it, the bastard's got every single dirty finger and toe in every single pie," Chellick explained.

"What's a pie?" Saren asked shrewdly.

"Some sort of human pastry. Basically, he's got a lot of ties, and most of the externalities we can't deal with off this station feed in directly through that little snot," the officer continued, "basically, you shut him down, you could easily give the rest of us a good few months to gather ourselves and start isolating the smaller things on the Citadel."

"Thank you, Chellick. I'll be on my way."

Chellick nodded just as Saren stepped out of the headquarters. With an objective in mind, he arrived at the docking bay and sauntered over to the shuttle.


	3. Red Sand Busting

Docking at another part of the wards, deeper down, Saren cautiously strode through the markets, carefully avoiding gaining attention as he wove his way to Chora's Den. Based upon a mole placed at the bar, Fist had an extensive security detail, including a mix of krogan, turians, and humans. It was nothing he hadn't faced before. Shooting the bouncer and shooting off the line at the door, Saren walked in before one of the guards noticed him.

"You're new here. What's with the fancy armor?"

The club was small and round with a bar in the middle and a circular platform above, and tables for dancers and patrons all around the walls. In the back was a hallway leading to management. Two on the balcony above with the dancers, six in total opposite to where he stood, three on his side of the club, two by the door and one sitting down at the bar.

He elbowed the guard to his left before shooting the guard to his right in his knee cap before finishing both off with two consecutive headshots. Tossing a flash grenade onto the platform, he charged at the third, smashing his head against the bar, rubbing his face against broken glass as he tossed him to the floor. The other guards began to rush him from the other side, led by a charging krogan. Biotically throwing the krogan against the two guards close behind, Saren took advantage of another guard's brief distraction, kicking him to the floor and plugging another two shots in him. Quickly reloading, Saren quickly killed the krogan to keep the two guards underneath him pinned before reaching for a bottle of wine over the counter. Tossing it against another guard, he rushed forth with a knife and stabbed the guard before using the corpse as a shield. Disposing of the remaining two guards below, he rolled back to cover as the guards on the platform shook off the affects of the grenade he threw. Picking up a bottle of ryncol, he tossed it up before shooting the bottle, igniting the platform at their feet. One fell and snapped his neck below as the other slowly burned. The guard he had tossed against the bar rose back up only to have Saren plug him through the eye before reloading a second time.

Walking through the door past the employee lockers, a two humans had their pistols trained on him before suddenly realizing the capability of their opposition.

"S-stop! Don't shoot! We only work here!" the warehouse worker on the left yelled.

"You boys should've thought about that when you read the job description," Saren scoffed.

Saren showed no mercy as he put three rounds into each. His mandibles flicking with pride, Saren strolled past the two corpses lying on the floor. He walked into the manager's office and almost walked in front of Fade's desk before two high-caliber sentry turrets fired at him, forcing him back to cover.

"Go away, Arterius! I haven't done anything!"

He grumbled with annoyance as he took out a pair of EMP grenades. Tossing one under each turret, both fizzled out in a smoking mess, before Saren rounded the corner and biotically charged down Fist, ramming him into a wall and dropping him to the floor.

"Hello, Fist."

"Please! I can get you what you want! Money! Women! Slaves!" Fist sputtered, whimpering between breaths.

"I'm more interested in Red Sand right now. Who's your supplier?" Saren demanded.

"I-I-I can't tell you that! They-!" Fist protested.

"Shame," Saren interrupted, "I suppose there are other ways of getting what I want."

"Blue Suns! Zorya! Oskar Frontier!" Fist gasped.

"Good. Thanks," Saren smirked.

Saren shot Fist in the head before breaking into a small office vault and taking his personal computer to verify the claim Fist yelled before his death. It took a few minutes for Saren to read through the data. Sure enough, it didn't take much effort to make Fist spill the beans. On his personal computer were long conversations about shipments of the narcotic to the Citadel with the newly formed mercenary group. Before leaving the Citadel, he quickly sent any data he found back to C-Sec for documentation. With that objective out of the way, Saren figured he should deal with the clients in question himself.

* * *

Zoyra had enough flora and dangerous fauna to leave any man lost for days on end. Landing not that far from the edge of the facility, Saren approached quietly, avoiding patrols along the border. With no one spotting him, the Spectre managed to reach the entrance with little trouble.

It wasn't long before he heard yelling in the distance. An argument. Dashing through the main entrance, he hid behind a series of pipes, careful to stay in the shadows.

"Oi! What's the meaning of this?! Get your hands off me, you traitorous wankers!"

Saren watched as two guards restrained another man.

In the middle of the factory were a total of six humans, all in Blue Suns armor. Four took to restraining and holding at gunpoint an older member while a man with darker skin and black hair paced about, ranting to the older man.

"You know as well as I do, Massani. The Blue Suns have to expand eventually."

"And what? Accept slavers to join our ranks? Mind you, slavers who attacked _**our**_ colonies?! Stop being an idiot and pull out your head from your asshole, and use however many brain cells you have to think about this, Santiago!" the former senior member barked.

"We already did, Zaeed," the younger leader acknowledged, pulling out a large sidearm and holding it to the deposed leader's head, "we've come to the conclusion you've got to go."

This was an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss, killing a coup in the making, and the former leader of the mercenaries in one swoop could create a power vacuum. He pulled a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and threw it. The resulting explosion startled the Blue Suns, allowing Zaeed to gain the upperhand and free himself.

Zaeed charged at the young Santiago, initiating a struggle between the two of them as they fought for the hand-cannon. The group failed to notice the damaged machinery nearby until it violently exploded. As they walked to the fallen leader to finish off what was left, Saren began open fire on the group, killing two guards. Meanwhile, the rest of the facility began to catch fire, explosions rang throughout the under-maintained structure, and various workers were caught in the fiery mess.

"Just let him burn, let's go!" Santiago ordered.

The surviving guards reluctantly abandoned the workers caught on fire. Santiago also retreated, leaving both Zaeed and Saren facing one another. Zaeed stumbled to his feet, suffering from a minor concussion.

"About time one of you lizards broke into my place of work. I'm pretty confident I made it apparent this planet is off-limits to people like you," Zaeed growled, spitting the blood out of his mouth.

Saren folded his arms.

"Then let me know when you're done being stubborn, Massani," Saren commented.

Massani simply chuckled.

"Knew there was something I at least liked about you turians. For all the head-butting both sides do, you're at least some of you are in the no-bullshit camp. For the sake of the old adage, you up for a good one-on-one?" Zaeed sneered before drawing a knife.

Saren snarled as he drew his own blade.

"Gladly."

The two men wrestled with hardened steel, narrowly dodging falling objects as the facility continued to burn around them.

"I do admire the operation you're running here," Saren growled, trying to thrust his blade down on Massani.

"It was going rather fine until you showed up."

Rolling the two, Zaeed put himself on top, now having the blade hang over Saren's face.

"So what was that clash of words from earlier then?" Zaeed retorted.

"I came here for an objective of my own," Saren growled, "so what was your purpose here?"

"I…started this damn company!" Zaeed grunted, "little bastards were trying to revise management."

Saren didn't respond, but he pushed Zaeed's blade away from his neck with his free hand. Saren noticed a bit of falling machinery, causing both men to narrowly crawl out of the way. The two raced through the smoking factory, attempting to finish off the other by occasionally shoving their opponent closer to some flaming hazard. Reaching a clearing, near a landing platform, the two fell to their knees, coughing from the smoke, barely able to climb back onto their feet.

"I don't know what you're getting at, but this is my goddamn company. No one is taking it from without a good fight," Zaeed hissed, pointing his blade at Saren.

"Having former colleagues restrain you before nearly executing you doesn't seem like a fair fight, Massani," Saren growled similarly.

Zaeed nodded in agreement. The Blue Suns leader's com-link went off.

_{Sir, Zaeed and the intruder have been spotted along the South side of the facility. Should we hold fire?}_

_{Negative. We don't need him anymore. Open fire,}_ Santiago hastily answered.

Massani struggled to answer through his damaged voice receptor.

"Dammit! Hold your fire! Hold your fire or I-!"

Mortar shells rose up in the distance, angling down towards them.

"Spirits! Look out!" Saren cried, as the two dove off the side of the railing into the jungle below.

Rolling to a halt, Saren flopped onto his back, watching Zaeed struggle with his suit coms device.

_{The factory has been lost. All remaining Blue Suns are advised to withdraw.}_

"Fuck! Santiago, heed my warning, you filthy snake!" Zaeed snarled, "the Blue Suns may not be mine anymore and you probably can't fucking hear me, but listen closely when I say I will find you, and I will kill you, slowly and painfully!"

He finished his diatribe before ripping the electronics out and stomping them underneath his boot, sputtering expletives with each stomp. All the while, Saren slowly staggered to his feet.

"That went well, For now, I'd like to propose a gentleman's agreement that we part ways after this mess without farther bloodshed. Neither of us seem to be in an advantageous standpoint to say otherwise," Saren interrupted humorlessly.

He stuck a hand out a hand in agreement, remembering what Nihlus had told him about human customs.

"I like your style, mate," Zaeed chuckled, "I suppose I'll accept."

The two waded painfully through the jungle back to Saren's shuttle as the Blue Suns abandoned the Red Sand factory. Passing Zaeed some medi-gel, Saren slid into the pilot seat and took off.

"Awfully convenient that you arrived when you did. Can't imagine myself surviving a shot to the head at that range. You're Spectre Arterius, right? I see you rather frequently in the news," Massani quipped as he slathered the gel on his bruises and burns.

"That is correct," Saren nodded.

"Right…so what then?" Zaeed asked.

"We'll be going our separate ways on the Citadel," Saren answered, "I can't image that this Santiago managed to freeze all of your assets yet."

"I've got a few personal accounts under various pseudonyms on the Citadel. It'll be enough to keep me going until I recover from this mess," the former leader added.

Saren set the shuttle to autopilot before getting up.

"I'd like to help, but I've got other matters to attend to," Saren explained as Zaeed tossed him a pack of medi-gel.

"Thanks, mate," Zaeed smiled.

* * *

The instant Saren returned to the Citadel after being away for a couple of days, he received a message from the medics that Jane had finished recovery. After landing his shuttle in the docking bay, Saren and Zaeed parted ways and then the turian Spectre made his way to the Presidium, arriving at the Huerta Hospital. Saren waited in the lobby, scrolling through the latest news articles on his omni-tool when Jane walked out into the front lobby. She felt lucky the staff provided her some decent clothing such as a casual blouse and a pair of clean pants as a start. She scanned her surroundings until she spotted Saren in one of the lobby chairs, compelling her to approach him.

"Saren?" Jane paused.

"Ah, Jane. I've taken the liberty of finalizing your citizenship here on the Citadel. Is there anything you'll immediately need exiting the hospital?" Saren greeted, turning off his omni-tool.

Jane took a moment to think over the question.

"If I were to request anything," Jane replied, "then maybe I could make a list of books that I would want to read, and a shelf to place them on."

Saren stood up and guided her outside.

"I'm sure we can pass by a good library on the way back to my apartment," he acknowledged, hailing a taxi.

Saren and Jane boarded the taxi without hesitation and when the Spectre relayed the destination to the driver, the taxi hovered into the air traffic.

"So. Why books of all things?" Saren asked, "I mean, not to imply that there's anything wrong with a good book, but I guess I see it as something rather trivial or benign."

"It's most likely because I find passion in reading," Jane clarified, resting her head on the back of her seat.

Saren shrugged in response.

"Fair enough. Like I said, I do know of a good library on the way back. What particularly did you have in mind?"

Jane peered through the window, watching the scenery as it passed by.

"Perhaps something related to adventure," Jane replied, "and maybe some resourceful material which I could learn from."

He paused, contemplating he state he'd found her in.

"I see. Take the time you need," Saren advised, "we won't be going anywhere soon."

Fifteen minutes passed before they were dropped off at a public library in the wards. The instant they stepped inside, Jane scanned their surroundings, feeling herself relax in such a tranquil moment. After a moment, she located a directory and took a few minutes to browse which genres could be found in which sections. While she did, she made a list of genres to look into, including science fiction, adventure and fantasy for fiction, and for non-fiction, she included history, math, science, and miscellaneous instructional material. And to top it all off, she included turian culture on the list.

"That's quite an ambitious pile you have there," Saren commented, eyeing the holobooks Jane had collected.

Jane carefully read through the titles before she returned her gaze towards Saren.

"I may not be on Earth anymore," Jane replied, "but I wouldn't prefer to give those who despised me the satisfaction of my defeat."

"You couldn't have ticked off anyone that big," Saren muttered, sifting through the various titles as they went through checkout.

He paused for a moment as he picked up a text on turian culture, raising an browplate at the notion.

"I thought I'd learn more about your race," Jane explained.

Saren didn't bother inquiring further before bringing the books to another taxi and setting off back to his apartment. Once they arrived, Saren led Jane inside.

"Until you have a proper place here, you can live at here," Saren explained, "I've set up the guest bedroom, acquired levo-based food, and set up whatever other things you'll need."

"Thank you, Saren," Jane nodded.

Jane stepped into her new bedroom and took in her surroundings. If anything, she started to gain the impression she found a shelter for herself, and she felt calmness at that thought.

"I left the spare key on the kitchen counter," Saren explained, "if you need anything else, just let me know."

With that, Saren disappeared into his own room. Jane took some time to sort the books on an empty shelf before she picked out a holobook on turian military. After that, she stepped out into the kitchen, finding the spare key and stashing it into her pocket for later. She then looked around the pantry, feeling the small urge to make some hot chocolate for herself.

Saren's injuries from the day before had more or less recovered, giving him time to sit down and write his report. While a big source of Red Sand on the Citadel had been cut off, a majority of the Blue Suns crew present had escaped. Sending the report, he quickly put on jogging gear and stepped back out of his room.

"Jane, I'm going for a run. I'll give you my omni-tool number in case…what's that smell?"

Jane paused and turned her head towards Saren.

"I-I was just making hot chocolate," she explained.

"Oh, I see. Just worried something might be burning," Saren replied, "anyways, here's my number. I'll be out for about an hour. Think you can handle yourself?"

"Yes," Jane nodded.

After Saren gave Jane his number, he stepped out of the apartment. It didn't take long for Jane to finish her hot chocolate, so she sat down at the table and read the holobook in her possession while she sipped her beverage.

Saren slung his water canteen over his shoulders and began to run off. Jane would probably need time to think over what she'd want to do as a career on the Citadel, so he left her alone in the apartment while giving himself time to clear his mind and get some fresh air after narrowly crawling out of a burning factory. It took a short while for the Spectre to make his way towards his usual trail.

He'd always felt fearful of the burning sensation one would get when inhaling smoke. It felt like he was on the verge of drowning, and clean air would always taste infinitely sweeter once he cleared his palate of the musty, bitter taste of smoke.

"Hey! Saren! How're you today?"

Nihlus ran up alongside, tapping his omni-tool before throwing the headphones he'd bought himself around his neck.

"You also needed fresh air, Nihlus?" Saren asked between deep breaths.

"And it's good to know you still do too, you fossil," Nihlus chuckled, "so how's the human coming along? Jane was her name, right?"

By then, Saren and Nihlus jogged along the path that led into the park.

"Yes," Saren answered, "and she was released from the hospital today."

"Hmmm, that's good to hear. Mind if I meet her later?" Nihlus asked before throwing back on his headphones.

Saren nodded before he returned his focus on the trail. Any other thoughts he did have were interrupted by Nihlus' singing as he continued to listen to whatever songs he had on his omni-tool.

"We can go where we want, we can leave your friends behind…"

Saren didn't bother to listen to Nihlus's singing voice as they passed by a tree.

* * *

A long while later, Saren and Nihlus finished with their jog, so they returned to the elder Spectre's apartment and headed inside. There, Jane was in the middle of taking a few notes in her omni-tool while she read a holobook in the living room.

"I'm home, Jane. I'd also like to introduce you to my protege, Nihlus Kryik," Saren called over, taking off his shoes.

Nihlus chirped with interest.

"My my, she is a pretty thing."

Jane paused in her tracks and set down the holobook before she stood to her feet and approached the two turians, extending her hand.

"It's pleasant to meet you…Nihlus," Jane said softly.

"Likewise, Jane. You seem to be doing better than when Saren first told me about you," Nihlus returned, accepting the handshake.

"Thank you," she smiled.

"You two can keep talking, I'm going to wash off," Saren told the two as he walked to his room to get a change of clothes.

With Jane alone with Nihlus, she sat back onto the couch and continued reading the holobook, which caught Nihlus's interest. He craned his neck over her shoulder.

"So, what are you reading?" he asked.

Jane tilted her head upwards for a moment.

"I thought I'd read about turian culture," Jane replied.

Nihlus glanced away shyly.

"Heh, really? I mean, I find human culture rather interesting myself. What do you think?"

"I'd say your culture is pretty impressive," Jane answered, pausing in between, "in a good way."

"How so?" Nihlus asked, "I find human culture interesting because of its diversity. That a single species could have so many facets to it."

Jane responded by pointing to a section covering turian military customs.

"I'll be looking into turian biology next," Jane continued.

That stopped Nihlus in his tracks.

"Okay, that's some next-level devotion right there," Nihlus commented, "I hadn't bothered looking up the biology aspect of humans yet."

Nihlus sat down next to Jane.

"I thought I'd catch up since Saren saved my life," Jane said.

"I can imagine," Nihlus sighed, "I can't imagine that you ever got a proper education with the living conditions you were in, right?"

Nihlus looked through the stack of other books that Jane had rented.

"In the city where I came from," Jane clarified, "if you have no money, no identification or no parent, you get left behind."

Nihlus tsked in response.

"That seems so counterproductive. They could at least provide services to those who have no way of achieving such instead of leaving people like you to rot. Just how many more like you are there on Earth? No offense."

"There are lot more people in that city that have it worse than I do," Jane answered, "and many of them don't survive past their twenties…if I recall."

"Okay, now that's fucked up. Even a salarian can live twice as long," Nihlus spat, "unfortunately, Earth politics are not my profession, and there's not really much I can do about it as a turian."

Jane didn't say anything further, so she went back to reading. Minutes later, Saren emerged from his room.

"Well, it's good I caught you when I did, Saren," Nihlus said, rising from the couch, "by the way, what sort of plans do you have for the future, Jane? Job? Your own place?"


	4. Rehabilitation Planning

Several days have passed since Jane moved into Saren's apartment. During that time, Jane used that time to care for herself as she adapted to living with the turian Spectre, such as locating a hair salon so she can have her hair cut short, its length now covering half of the back of her neck. She even bathed herself once during that week and even studied a few more holobooks. When she had the need for food, Saren insisted that he assist her when she prepared her own meals.

At the moment, Jane just acquired a puzzle game for her omni-tool which allowed her to test her problem solving skills using logic. She currently sat in the living room as she scheduled to complete progress with her use of problem solving within a half an hour while a holobook rested on her lap. From what Saren assumed, she might be planning to read it.

"I'll be out for a few hours discussing matters with the Council," Saren announced, making for the door, "as usual, call me if something goes horribly wrong."

Jane nodded just as Saren left the apartment and closed the door. Saren looked back over the message from Sparatus on his omni-tool.

_{We have a few matters we'd like to discuss with you. In private.}_

Saren sighed before he made his way through the Presidium. Getting onto the elevator into the Citadel Tower, he quickly returned a message to Sparatus.

_{Almost there. Entering the tower now.}_

The turian Spectre waited for a short while before the elevator reached its destination, so he stepped out and made his way to the Council Chambers. Before him, Sparatus, Valern and Tevos gave him puzzled stares.

"I assume this is still about how I dealt with the Blue Suns factory?" Saren asked cautiously.

The Councilors had given him flak for letting Zaeed go. However, he reasoned that the elder mercenary had been overthrown by his lackeys, and was no longer a concern.

"No, we've come to the conclusion it was a decision made in good judgment," Tevos corrected, "however, something unrelated had caught our attention."

Saren took a deep breath.

"All right," he said, "I'm listening."

"There have been circulated a few rumors about yourself. Nothing particularly bad, but it's still a cause for some concern," Sparatus started.

Saren remained calm even if he folded his arms.

"If any rumors involve me," Saren replied, "then I'd like to hear about them."

Valern cleared his throat.

"While it is still within the stage as a rumor," he explained, "word has been circulating that you've had a human living in your quarters."

"Like I said, we don't particularly mind it," Sparatus reassured, "however, we're somewhat fearful of how it will impact your image given your previous statements on the Systems Alliance."

Saren resisted the urge to flinch, and he started wondering over the Councilor's words. If he ever came across any official from the Systems Alliance and they noticed Jane, would they not take it lightly? He immediately brushed off the thought of Anderson criticizing him for what he might assume to be hypocrisy.

"I…found her living on the streets in a city on Earth which I visited not long ago," Saren admitted, "the conditions she endured gave me suspicion of certain parts of humanity."

"So the rumors are true then?" Sparatus pressed.

"All I'm saying is that I'm providing her help so that she may gradually become a constructive figure in society," Saren denounced, "still, my public opinion on the Alliance hasn't changed, and I'd prefer if none of you gave such impressions to the media and public."

During a moment of silence, the Councilors exchanged glances.

"Very well, thank you for your time, Arterius. You are dismissed."

Saren walked away as the councilors continued with their squabble.

On the way onto the elevator back to the Presidium, he quickly typed a message.

_{Matriarch Benezia, have you docked yet?}_

While the elevator continued to descend, Saren waited for the Asari Matriarch to respond.

 _{Yes, we have. I still have the address you sent me too. I'm glad you're willing to take the time to discuss the matter with us,}_ the Matriarch returned, _{of course, Liara believes this to be an unnecessary process and that we're wasting our time.}_

Saren hummed as he sent his next message.

_{We can iron out security when we get there. Also, I've recently had a guest move in to my home. An unconventional guest, but a guest nonetheless.}_

By the then, the elevator reached the base level and the door opened, so Saren stepped out of the building. Walking back to his apartment, he found that Matriarch T'soni and her daughter had already beaten her back, and were being introduced to Jane at the door.

"H-How can I help you, ma'am?" Jane asked.

"I wish to talk with Saren concerning matters of personal safety, you must be the guest he mentioned. Is he home right now?" Benezia greeted.

"I'm here, Matriarch. Just got back with some minor matters with the councilors," Saren answered, approaching the two asari, "please enter, I'll be right with you two."

Benezia and Liara stepped into the apartment upon cue.

"Once again, I appreciate the time you're taking with this matter, Arterius. It's important to both of us," Benezia reiterated.

Saren nodded as he sat across from Benezia and Liara, Jane following suit.

"So Liara is initiating her first few expeditions into the Attican regions?" Saren asked.

Benezia had given him an extensive description of her worries and what she wanted to discuss before hand.

"Yes," Liara nodded without giving away any signs of nervousness.

Liara was a rising archeologist, and would be making her first strides in various Prothean ruins throughout the fringes of Alliance Space. With the power and influence the T'Soni household held, Benezia had no problem providing the necessary resources or security her daughter would need to face against whatever environmental challenges or threats her party would encounter.

"I see. I've been through the Attican plenty of times, and no visit was safer than the last," Saren acknowledged.

Jane raised her eyebrows in interest. Her smile hid her sadness of the reality that her struggles held her back.

"As for pirates," Saren continued, "you'll probably want to invest a small security detail with heavy anti-air and long-range scanners to check the IFFs of ships passing through the system. If they are utilizing a scrubbed IFF, chances are they're closing in. As for wildlife, local fauna can be easily controlled, but you might want to send along some anti-armor for cases where you'll be dealing with predators. I'm not so much an expert on mining equipment, but I'm sure you can defer to your daughter for what would be the best choice in that regard."

Having paid close attention, Liara nodded in agreement.

"As for a vessel, I suggest something fast that has a low profile," Saren suggested, "helps to get in and out of trouble quickly. Finally, I highly suggest you bring very mobile transportation, even if it means sacrificing defensive capabilities. With a security detail like the one I described, pirates and raiders won't be much of a threat, so outmaneuvering fauna is a priority. I assume you also know how to sustain and command an excavation crew, Liara?"

"I do, Spectre Arterius," Liara answered.

"Good. Finally, and I know this is basically a given, but do yourselves a favor and do extensive background checks on the people you hire to reduce the chances of betrayals, anyone mentally snapping in the field, or failing to perform their job properly," Saren finished, "before you two leave, I can help you compile a list of well trained, private contractors to look over."

With that, Saren turned on his omni-tool and sent the information to both Benezia and Liara, allowing them to analyze it.

"Thank you. We should be going, we have a few other things to do before we leave," Benezia acknowledged as she rose to her feet.

Walking to the door, the matriarch pulled Jane to the side.

"No mean to be rude, but I had to ask a few things. Saren mentioned you were a guest here, but never specified why."

Jane paused for a moment.

"I lived most of my life on the streets until Saren found me," Jane admitted, "I…haven't thought of what I would do with my life apart from catching up with the others."

Saren overheard their conversation and decided to answer.

"We were hoping that with a quick, proper education," Saren said, "at least to the point where she can achieve a gen-ed diploma."

Jane shifted gazes between Saren and Benezia for a moment.

"Since the city I lived in my entire life was garbage," Jane nodded, "I'll accept the offer."

"She was in poverty when I found her. Anyways, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make much of the matter publicly," Saren explained.

Benezia nodded in agreement.

"Then your secret is safe with us," Benezia confirmed.

Saren and the two asari discussed some final matters before they departed. Saren then hastily walked to the kitchen to grab a snack.

"I do apologize for not informing you about the visit earlier," Saren sighed.

Jane remained calm as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"That's ok," she reassured the Spectre, "I feel it was worth saying hello to them."

Saren largely ignored the gesture as he bit into some leftovers he regretted leaving in the refrigerator for a few days longer than he should've.

"She's a nice person, I'll give her that. Though that reminds me, what exactly do you plan on doing once you've achieved a GED?"

"I…haven't thought about it per se," Jane admitted.

Saren continued to mumble through a mouthful of food.

"I'm sure you'll find something you'll like."

Jane stepped over to the refrigerator and found a container of yogurt. Once she pulled out a spoon, she gave the yogurt a taste test. Seconds later, she found herself enjoying the strawberry flavor within the yogurt, so she kept eating. Saren went to wash his plate before noticing Jane thumb through a new holobook. He had long since forgotten which ones she had picked for herself, so he cautiously peeked over her shoulder.

"What's this one about?" he asked.

Pausing for a moment, Jane tilted the holobook until Saren could read its title.

"I remember reading about gardening when my mother was still alive," Jane explained, her expression reminiscing on her nostalgic memory, "I would sometimes daydream that we would both get a better home so I can start a garden of my own."

Saren shrugged at the notion.

"I myself do enjoy the sight of flora too, but I really don't have any space in the house devoted to having any plants."

"I…understand," Jane replied softly.

"However," Saren continued, "if you're willing to be a bit more risky with them, there's always the apartment balcony."

Having already finished her yogurt and disposed of the container, Jane held the holobook close to her chest, allowing Saren to gesture her to follow him towards the door to the balcony. It was small, measuring barely five square meters.

"It's not much, but I barely use this space, so go wild," he dismissed.

With Saren standing nearby, Jane started scanning the area, calculating which would most likely be the most viable spots where she can place her garden. Saren quickly faced back inside, but decided to peek his head out.

"What plants do you plan on putting out here anyways?" he asked.

"Maybe if I understood what plants and flowers were available," Jane offered, "I could pick and choose for myself."

"Well, there is a nice flower shop in the markets," Saren mentioned, "I'll give you the coordinates when you're ready."

Having confirmed a suitable spot for her small garden, Jane stood to her feet and gave the Spectre a soft smile.

"Ok, I'm ready," Jane replied.

With that, they headed out of the apartment. Saren figured he should physically show her the way before sending her off on her own the next time. Giving her some credits, the two walked down to the nearby market. Once inside the shop, Jane started browsing gardening tools and various seeds, reading the names of the plants on the seed packages.

"Do any look particularly appealing?" Saren asked.

Having found a basket, Jane picked out packages of various seeds, including lilacs, daisies, forget-me-nots, irises, petunias and marigolds. She then turned her attention to the equipment.

"So, a garden? Maybe you'd enjoy life on one of the agricultural colonies the Alliance have?" Saren suggested.

If it's one thing he did have to give to humans was how quickly they could adapt to new circumstances. Jane didn't respond, yet she picked out some equipment, carefully double-checking the list to ensure she had the essentials. By the time she finished, she and Saren stepped over to the counter. Saren glanced away as Jane kept her silence.

"Or not, I suppose," he sighed.

Still, Jane placed the basket near the counter and placed the items on the checkout, catching the clerk's attention.

"That's quite a few household plants. Anything in mind?" the clerk inquired, scanning the pricetags.

"I thought I'd go for something closer to home," Jane answered.

"Closer to home?" the clerk asked, raising a brow, "anyways, that brings the total to three thousand credits."

Jane took a few moments to check the amount of credits she had on hand. Fortunately, she had barely enough to make the transaction, so she went through the payment. Saren helped to carry half of the items back to his apartment.

"I hope you're happy with what you have," Saren said.

"Same here," Jane agreed.

By the time they returned, they both set the items aside. While Saren stepped back into the apartment, Jane wasted no time as she arranged the flowering pots in the suitable spot she picked, taking her time to read through the tips she recorded in her omni-tool. She started off by pouring the soil into the flowering pots, making sure each pot had an appropriate amount of soil. After that, she checked each package of seeds before planting some of them into the flowering pots. In a couple particular flowering pots, Jane planted seeds that would sprout the kind of flowers turians were more familiar with. By the time she finished, she followed through the instructions on watering the planted seeds, taking care not to overdo it. By the time she finished, Jane put away the equipment and stepped back into the apartment, rinsing off her hands before she found Saren watching a news channel in the living room.

"Finished already?" Saren asked, barely taking his eyes of the screen.

Jane nodded before she sat down next to him.

"The seeds will need time to grow," Jane explained, "so they'll need sunlight and water from time to time."

"That shouldn't be too problematic with good maintenance," Saren looked on as the news continued to discuss some bombing on Illium.

A moment of silence passed by before Jane stood from the couch and made her way to her room, pulling out a holobook titled "The Relay 314 Incident". Figuring it might be an interesting read, she returned to living room and sat down next to the Spectre before she began reading the holobook in her hands. Saren glanced briefly at the title before averting his eyes, giving a disgruntled sigh. He quickly picked up the remote and changed the channel to some comedy show.

"Saren?" Jane paused.

Saren took a moment to tilt his head towards the human.

"Is…something bothering you?" Jane continued.

"It's unimportant," Saren was in no rush to describe the Relay 314 Incident, was trying to focus on the show to help drown out the thoughts.

Not wanting to bother Saren with heavy issues, Jane set on to read through the holobook herself. While she read through it, she took note of how the humans and the turians did not have such a peaceful first encounter, even if it was started by an unfortunate misunderstanding.

Saren himself wasn't traumatically shaken by the conflict as much as he hated the political intentions on both sides. After Desolas' death, he became especially persistent that he remained disassociated with the conflict, such as avoiding veteran gatherings to commemorate those who lost their lives. He didn't particularly blame the humans for Desolas' death as he did blame them for not coming forth sooner with the revelation that they didn't know of the regulations surrounding opening Relays.

It may have been long amidst taking notes, Jane finished reading the holobook before taking a few moments to return it to her shelf. Without saying anything, she leaned a little closer to Saren, which gave him a puzzled expression.

"What's the matter now?" he asked.

Jane made a brief glance at Saren.

"I'm just," Jane answered, "wanting to savor this moment."

Figuring out she was content being around him, Saren sighed as he placed his arm over her shoulder.

"Well, if it's any closure, it's a tale for another day," Saren admitted.

Jane nodded in agreement before she turned her focus onto the show on the screen. Over time, she found the pun related humor used in the show pretty entertaining. It was dumb humor, but it was the type of humor one could watch by simply turning off their brain and just sit there with their eyes glued to the screen.

From there, time seemed to blur to the point where neither of them kept track of time. The next thing they knew, it was already sunset outside. Saren got up to prepare something easy in the kitchen.

"So, what were you thinking of for dinner?" Saren asked.

Jane also stood from the couch and stepped into the kitchen, rummaging through the pantry for some ingredients while she checked her omni-tool for simple recipes.

Saren focused on the simple stew he had in the pot in front of him, occasionally glancing at Jane. Considering the state she'd been in during her upbringing, he couldn't help but wonder what her stance was between her own species and his.

"What's your opinion on the 314 Relay In- er, the First Contact War?" Saren asked.

Jane just set down her ingredients when she focused her eyes on Saren.

"I guess it was a misunderstanding that was taken too seriously," Jane shrugged.

"I see," Saren replied.

Jane then proceeded to start preparing her meal. If anything, Saren couldn't help but appreciate that she followed through with written instructions pretty well.


	5. A Need for Closure

Jane had adjusted well to living under Saren's roof, so in the Spectre's mind, it was about time he signed her up for an education plan. During the early morning, Saren started to brew his kava while Jane was out in the back balcony, watering the seeds until the soil was moist. By the time she finished, she put back the equipment and stepped back inside the apartment. Jane spent a couple more minutes rinsing off her hands before she met up with Saren in the kitchen, searching the pantry until she pulled out a packet of instant oatmeal.

"The garden is coming along nicely," Saren was at the table, eyes scrolling over a datapad.

"Thank you, Saren," Jane smiled.

Jane carefully read the instructions while she prepared her breakfast.

"I admire your ability to be self-taught. However, I'm looking for a course you could take on which your level of education would be considered official," Saren added, pushing the datapad towards a place where she could see.

Even if she hadn't finished preparing her food yet, Jane carefully read the details on the datapad, including the address of the office he looked up.

"I've got a few listed," Saren continued, "if you have any preference, speak your mind."

By the time her oatmeal was ready, Jane carried it over to the table and started eating, still reading from the datapad. Saren then got up to rinse his dishes off before putting them in the dishwasher. All the while, Jane couldn't help but wonder if the Spectre knew any of the contacts he listed. The silence broke when Saren returned to the table.

"So do you have any preference," Saren repeated, "or should I choose for you?"

"Maybe you could introduce me?" Jane suggested.

Saren looked over the list one more time.

"I might have a suggestion," Saren offered, "if you have time, I could show you over there."

"I'd like that," Jane nodded.

It took several minutes before Jane finished her breakfast. After she cleaned up after herself, she met up with Saren at the front door and picked her shoes out from the rack. The turian Spectre led her out of the apartment before they hopped aboard a skycar, Saren relaying the destination to the driver before he focused on Jane.

"It's designed to help those who've been held back catch up in their education."

Jane kept her eyes locked onto Saren, paying close attention to his reasoning.

"It's affordable, has a very flexible schedule, safe, and a high rate of people who walk out with degrees. You'll like it," Saren continued.

Stepping out of the taxi, the two were met with a view of a large, rather pristine building. The external, chrome vents looked like fish scales, on top of pearly pillars surrounding the mouth of the building. Even if she didn't change her facial expression, Jane stared in amazement.

While registration didn't require much in the realm of previous education or employment experience, it did require extensive data concerning identity and payment info. Saren hummed happily as he sat down and began to fill in the blanks, glad as he was that he had handled Jane's identification previously. Finally, he decided to pay for the courses, as Jane didn't have much in the way of her own wage.

The two discussed as they handpicked which classes Jane needed to take to earn her GED. Finalizing a few other on-campus details and contract agreements, Saren handed the paperwork in to the front desk. Making one more arrangement for a standardized education evaluation the following week, the two finally left. Almost a full hour had passed since they had arrived.

"Thank Spirits that's finally over," Saren muttered.

Jane nodded, yet she fidgeted nervously, which Saren took notice of.

"Is something wrong?" Saren asked, "I thought this was what you wanted."

"It is," Jane replied, "I just don't know what the others would think of me if they knew what I've been through."

"What's in the past is in the past," Saren reassured, "it can't hurt you unless you let it."

"Ok," Jane nodded.

With that, Jane gave Saren a gentle embrace. Saren felt a light tingling zip down his spine, feeling Jane's arms around himself. He didn't expect or desire this sort of companionship, but he didn't bother resisting either. He continued to feel somewhat distracted as the two of them entered a taxi back to his home. By the time they returned to the apartment, Jane slipped off her shoes and placed them on the rack. Saren sat back down at his personal terminal and continued typing. He had been putting off long enough, and he'd best return to work typing out something generic lest Sparatus begin to pester him around again. Little did he know, this roused curiosity out of Jane, so she grabbed a nearby chair and sat next to him, observing his work.

A couple days prior to his talk with Matriarch Benezia and her daughter, he'd left for another assignment, but took his time to compile the mission report. He noticed Jane entering the room, but hadn't paid much thought to her presence. This gave Jane a chance to continue observing the turian Spectre without interrupting him. Saren finished up with a short, quick report before sending it off and turned to Jane.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked.

Jane couldn't help but stiffen.

"I…I was just curious," Jane blurted.

He stretched as he stood up from his office swivel chair.

"What about?" he insisted.

"About what you do for a living," Jane replied.

Of course, Jane still remembered others mentioning Saren was a Spectre, even if she hadn't given much thought as to what it entailed.

"Law enforcement…mostly," Saren started, "as Spectres, we directly answer to the Council and are generally free from regulations as to how we do our jobs. Along with assignments that we are given, we mostly go out on our own to halt crime however we see fit."

Jane slightly raised her eyebrows.

"What crimes do they deal with?" Jane asked, "does it involve more serious ones?"

"Slavers, drug rings, illegal tech, the sorts of things C-Sec doesn't have the range to deal with and local authorities don't have the man-power to deal with. Usually, the Council doesn't care how you get it done, so long as you complete the mission," Saren explained.

With that, Jane started to reminisce on her childhood for some reason. Well, her classes haven't started yet, and the memory of her mother's death hasn't stopped bothering her in her sleep.

"Sex trafficking also counts, right?" Jane blurted.

"It usually falls under the same category as slavery, but yes. I've had to deal with on many occasions women who had been, or on the verge of breaking while they were in captivity," Saren answered, "unfortunately, crime seems to be pretty universal."

Jane nodded in agreement.

"I know one particular ring back on Earth," Jane said, "but after seeing my mother die when I was young, I avoided prostitution."

Saren hummed with dismay. Her story wasn't all that similar to his, but some themes did resemble others.

"Well, that's what being a Spectre is: a group of hand-picked individuals who have proven themselves designated to be the hand of the Council and protect the galaxy."

Jane gave off a soft expression, and Saren couldn't help but stroke his talons through her hair, letting her lean into the touch.

"You must be lucky to have survived harsh conditions, Shepard," Saren continued.

"Yes," Jane agreed, "but I feel sad for those who couldn't escape."

"So what are you proposing?" Saren asked.

"If you can keep up to date on the trafficking ring and let me know about it," Jane advised, "then I would appreciate it."

With that, Jane managed to remember the name of the trafficking ring and relayed it to Saren.

"So what's the plan? You want to go after these guys?" Saren asked, looking through the deep web for any contact information of the aforementioned trafficking ring.

There was a long moment of silence before Jane nodded.

"I can arrange that," Saren assured.

He wasn't sure whether or not she should come along, or stay at the ship, but considering how much he had invested in Jane by now, he could take the time to give her some closure. Also, the Alliance was sure taking its time to properly treat some of the decay on Earth. For now, he figured he could give her some insight on the places in the galaxy he has traveled to.

Saren continued at his terminal with Jane watching over his shoulder.

"It's going to be quite a ways out into the galaxy," Saren said, "I'll get you the necessary civilian equipment, but do you think you can handle yourself?"

Jane nodded.

"I've had to fend for myself for years," Jane answered calmly.

"We'll head to an equipment shop tomorrow, see what we can get," he agreed, as the two walked out of his office.

And with the time they had available, Saren offered to take Jane through a stroll in the park.

* * *

Even if he hadn't received any assignments yet the following day, Saren still felt that it was necessary for Jane to gear up. Saren put on his coat and checked his omni-tool. It didn't take long for Jane to meet up with him at the front door before she slipped on her shoes.

"We'll need at most a pressurized suit for you, an omni-blade, and a sidearm to start with," he told Jane.

Jane nodded even if she examined herself carefully. The two exited the apartment and hailed a taxi.

"Now, I should let you know the provider I do by from is hypocritically…illegal."

Jane gave Saren a puzzled stare while they waited for the taxi to arrive. If what Saren said was true, then she had a feeling he was no stranger to illegal activity like herself.

"Worse than what I had to resort to doing?" Jane pondered.

"It's illegal tech. Mining parties and colonists do have to report Prothean findings, but more often than not slip through regulations. It does help to have better shields and weapons than anything you'll ever come across," he explained further.

By the time the taxi arrived, Saren and Jane hopped aboard before the turian Spectre relayed the destination to the driver.

"Prothean particle rifles, for example, are almost to die for," Saren continued, "at the knowledge or sight of one, mercenaries and pirates will throw themselves at each other for one before they're confiscated by authorities. With firepower like that and the rechargeable ammo batteries, they're worth every bit whatever scavenger charges you for."

Jane's expression gave away interest as the skycar hovered through the air traffic.

"I don't think I've seen one on Earth," Jane mused.

"Like I said, they are rare as they are powerful," Saren reiterated.

Several minutes passed before they arrived at a clean, well lit part of the wards. When the skycar landed, Jane and Saren disembarked.

"Here we are. The shopkeeper has plenty of contacts and feels comfortable with the thought he can operate as openly as he does. He does provide materials that have narrowly saved me, so I'm somewhat obliged to look the other way."

Saren led Jane into the shop. It resembled any other gun store she'd seen on Earth with the inclusion of weapon mods, armor segments, guns on racks, ammunition types, and attachments. The volus at the front counter was talking to a tall man in heavy armor neither of them recognized.

The human was rather tall, a few inches above Saren, but didn't look to be from any discernible faction he'd ever encountered. The armor was white with stripes of red, almost muscular looking, and had a small, glowing rack of cobalt blue metal boxes hanging on his lower back. The helmet looked like a human helmet design from a couple centuries back with a bivalve gasmask covering the face and a bronze tinted visor. As the enormous man picked his rifle and paid his fee, Saren couldn't help but continue to stare. Peering back with through his bronze, reflective visor on the way out, he simply growled back with a thick accent.

"What are you looking at?"

"Just thought I recognized you," Saren muttered with some confusion.

The two then continued to the front counter. This drew the volus's attention towards them.

"Ah! *wheeze* Spectre Arterius! A pleasure *wheeze* to see you again! *wheeze* What'll it be today?" the shop keeper asked.

"I need a good suit of armor, an omni-blade, and I'd like to have a good view of your sidearms for my new accomplice," Saren answered, gesturing to Jane.

The volus clerk took a moment to examine Jane.

"Is she your *wheeze* apprentice?" he asked.

Jane gave the volus a puzzled expression.

"I'm…sorry?" Jane paused.

"Not…exactly…" Saren started, "at least I assume she isn't interested in my field of work."

"Oh, right," the volus blurted.

The volus quickly got to work getting Jane's proportions and showing the two a few sets of armor that could be adjusted to her size.

"I can also have them integrated with Prothean barriers if you so desire."

"I accept the offer," Saren nodded in approval.

"You also mentioned the desire to buy a new sidearm and omni-blade?"

"That is correct," Saren answered.

"Then I'll get to it," the volus announced, "I'll *wheeze* have it finished in a day or two."

The shop keeper gave them an omni-blade attachment for Jane's omni-tool and went over to the display case of various pistols.

"So what exactly would be your preference?" Saren asked.

Jane took her time to carefully examine the pistols on display. Yet, she hadn't thought of what she would prefer in a pistol.

"What would you recommend?" Jane pondered.

"A small clip size, but a solid punch for each round you fire," Saren suggested.

The volus then directed them to a group of pistols down near the other side of the display cabinet.

"I'd recommend this one *wheeze* if it is her first time," the volus picked up one of the weapons and put it on the counter before them.

"I'd like that," Jane agreed.

Jane picked up the pistol and carefully examined it. However, since she had almost no experience in firearms, the way she held it triggered a concerned expression out of Saren.

"It's *wheeze* easy to learn and maintain. *wheeze* It's also stereotypically seen in the hands of *wheeze* aspiring mercenaries and hitmen," the volus explained, describing the pistol.

"That's good, we'll take it," Saren confirmed, yanking the weapon from her hands like a worried mother taking a kitchen knife.

"And," Saren reminded, "you might want to learn how to hold it properly so you don't hurt yourself."

"S-Sorry," Jane muttered.

Saren ran his talons through her hair in an attempt to give her reassurance. Purchasing the goods, the two left the store.

"Sorry about that," Saren sighed, "I really should teach you proper gun discipline before we leave."

"I see your point, sir," Jane nodded in agreement.

"But, I suppose we could make a detour on the way home," Saren added.

With the new pistol, the two went to a small firing range to practice. Once inside, Jane took a moment to scan her new surroundings. Exiting the front lobby, they put away their belongings in locker room before stepping into the gun range. It was well lit, and almost like a bowling alley as each range was walled off from the other. Along the range was a series of projectors. It didn't take long before Saren and Jane found an available range.

"Now, you want to have your hands set up like this with your right thumb relatively close to the safety. Due to how much of an extra kick this weapon will have, you'll want to keep your gun-arm stiff in preparation for the recoil," Saren had his arms around Jane's, putting her hands in the right places, "when you aim down the sights, you want to make sure those three green dots line up, with the middle one being right in between the other two."

"Right," Jane nodded, following Saren's instructions.

Saren hit the console in front of them, bringing up a simple target.

"Right, give it your best shot."

Upon cue, Jane carefully aimed at the target before she squeezed the trigger. One of the putter rings lit up, indicating a hit.

"That's a good start," Saren praised, "give it a few more shots. Try and balance the time between shots to make the recoil more manageable."

"Got it," Jane nodded.

Jane returned her focus to the target. Eyeing the target a bit longer, Jane squeezed the trigger firing a few more rounds closer to the center of the target. Firing the eighth and final round, the gun made a sharp hiss, opening vents on the side to let out a burst of steam. Saren directed her hand to the top of the gun.

"This signifies the thermal clip is expended," Saren explained, "you want to pull the top of the module back to eject the used thermal clip before putting in a new one. Pulling it open will initiate a catch mechanism which will allow you to put in the clip. Once you've reloaded, tap the button below to release the catch and close the weapon."

Upon cue, Jane followed Saren's advice, which allowed her to extract the useless thermal clip from the pistol, replacing it with a new clip.

"Good," Saren persuaded, "now give it another try before we move on to something else."

"Ok," Jane nodded.

She continued with practice, firing off two more thermal clips before Saren tapped the console again.

"Let's see how you fare against moving targets. Try to anticipate the movements in relation to how fast the thermal round flies."

Jane nodded in acknowledgment. The targets would shift left and right, in and out of cover, proving difficult at first. Jane was able to adapt well enough, and began to hit her targets with increasing accuracy. Observing her progress, Saren flicked his mandibles into a grin.

"I'm impressed. A bit of beginner's luck," Saren praised.

"Thanks," Jane gave Saren a soft smile.

The two continued for an hour longer, discussing weapon safety, cleaning, ammunition types, and various other tips Saren had to offer. By then, Jane felt confident in her progress. By the time the hour finished, the two concluded the practice and left.

"I'm surprised you learned as quickly as you did," Saren complimented.

"Thank you, sir," Jane nodded.

Saren froze in his tracks after he called aside a taxi.

"Why are you calling me 'sir' all of a sudden?" he paused.

"To…show you respect?" Jane clarified.

He simply shrugged at the answer.

"Fair enough. It just felt a bit out of place."

Once the taxi arrived, Saren and Jane boarded it before it hovered back to their apartment. The Spectre hoped the Council might present a mission covering Jane's target shortly.


	6. A Survivor's Insight

Saren remained up to date over the course of a couple days while Jane took her time to prepare for their potential joint mission. Hearing a knock at the door, Saren walked out to be greeted by a package delivery. Signing a few documents, Saren pulled the package inside and opened up the case with Jane's new set of armor inside.

"Jane, your armor is here!" Saren called over.

This caught Jane's attention, so she set down her holobook and carefully examined the contents inside the case.

"This is…this looks incredible," Jane replied.

It was a simple set of armor with a black, pressurized mesh at the base and gray plates of armor across the arms, chest, legs, and back. Additionally, the suit came with pouches for thermal clips, grenades, and other equipment to bring along.

"Personally, it's a nice set of armor," Saren admired.

Nodding in agreement, Jane tried to lift the case, wanting to carry it to her room.

"Anyways, I had sent a request to the Council earlier to allow me with a single accomplice to pursue this ring you told me of. They accepted, and we now have permission to pursue them," Saren added, "whenever you're ready, we can leave to deal with the trafficking ring."

Jane paused in her tracks upon hearing those words. Feeling a boost of confidence, she closed her bedroom door and slipped into her armor before gathering her weapons. By the time she finished, she sprinted back to the front door.

"Ok," Jane told Saren, "I'm ready!"

"Aren't you excited?" Saren replied, making his way to his room to get his armor, "we'll be heading to the Spectre docks where my shuttle is. You'll have clearance so long as you're with me."

By the time Saren finished gearing up, he led Jane out of the apartment. The Spectres' private docking bay on the Citadel was a much more secluded area of the Citadel, with only Spectres being granted permission to enter and exit. Saren provided his identification at the gate, before telling the security personnel there that Jane was with him for the next mission. Leading her onto the dock, he showed her the shuttle he used.

"It's small, only requires a crew of one, and can go through the most secure systems with minimal chances of detection," Saren explained.

Jane took a short moment to examine the shuttle.

"So you normally work alone?" she asked.

"I did work with Nihlus when he was getting started, but he hasn't worked with that much ever since he graduated from the academy. Even then, he travels on his own shuttle," he answered as the two walked to the cockpit.

With Saren taking control of the steering handles, Jane sat next to him. The turian Spectre quickly initiated the autopilot, setting the ship to takeoff from the Citadel and enter the Mass Relay.

"I should probably show you around first to give you an idea of where things are," he mentioned, rising from his seat.

Saren wasted no time as he brought up the map of the Milky Way Galaxy, allowing Jane to examine it. After that, she stood from her seat and began following Saren through the shuttle.

"The cockpit isn't too big outside of the pilot's seat and the map's for plotting courses. There is a small medical station with bandages and enough medi-gel to go around," Saren explained.

Jane took a moment to examine the medical station and the quarters she remembered resting in when Saren smuggled her out of Earth.

"These are my quarters. I do have a small bathroom in the corner and a change of clothes," Saren continued, "though all of them are turian-made. It's not much, but I usually don't sleep here often anyways."

"And yet you've managed well," Jane commented, "I'm impressed."

Showing her further into the ship past a small kitchen, he showed a medium-sized room full of supply crates.

"This is where I keep spare equipment and rations. There's not much to look at here, otherwise."

Jane nodded before Saren led her further through the shuttle.

"Finally, here's engine maintenance," Saren concluded, "sometimes, being outside of the shuttle isn't very convenient when making repairs."

"I think I can understand that," Jane couldn't help but agree.

With their little tour finished, Saren led Jane back to the cockpit.

"For now, relax. It'll take us a few hours tops to reach our destination," Saren ordered.

Jane nodded before she relaxed into her seat.

"So, Earth. Think you'll be okay retreading familiar territory?" Saren asked.

Jane stiffened as much as she could to hide her signs of nervousness.

"I can imagine others who won't be happy with seeing me," Jane answered, "but yes."

"If you're not willing to divulge, that's fine. I've got my own ghost that I'd rather leave untouched."

The shuttle began to fly parallel to the ancient structure, before catapulting them light years in mere seconds. While warping between Mass Relays, Jane sat patiently, anticipating their arrival.

"Before we go in, do you remember anything about security?" Saren made a few final adjustments on his sidearm as they exited into the Sol System.

Jane shook her head. No matter, the few gangs he had encountered on Earth previously were relatively under-equipped, even so far as to use old combustion-based weapons that barely worked. Still, the two had sufficient protection against whatever the local gangs had. By the time they reached Earth, Saren landed his shuttle in the spaceport before he and Jane disembarked. Before they could leave the spaceport, however, they came across a couple security guards. Jane kept a stoic face even if the guards gave her the stink eye. Among most humans, Saren had quickly become easily recognizable in the wake of the First Contact War. It was strange to see someone like Jane walking along side him through a heavy traffic spaceport.

"You do still remember where it is, right?" Saren asked.

"I hope so," Jane tried to reassure herself.

From the station, the couple rode into the suburban areas on the metro. While Earth had began to see increasing living standards with the dense population moving off planet and the burst of growth within the economy across the planet, some locations saw slower change than others. Using what was left of her childhood memory, Jane took the time she needed to pinpoint which of these locations held the brothel. After they disembarked the metro, they walked through the busy streets, with Saren uncomfortably looking this way and that. There was a small minority of other species among the crowds, but turians weren't one of them, and the glances the humans shot at him gave him the impression someone, somehow was going to mug him. Luckily, their combined vigilance gave them a small boost of safety for both of them.

The brothel was in a ruinous part of town, and somehow in greater disrepair than she remembered it. Repairs and remodeling had slowly began to spread through Jackson City, but the sector had yet to see the chance of any sort of revisions.

"Charming," Saren commented, looking at the old building.

Jane took a few moments to scan the area to find any activity. She merely took note of a couple impatient customers standing outside the door.

"Any way in that isn't the front door?" Saren muttered.

Jane gestured Saren to follow her through an alley and away from prying eyes, circling the perimeter of the brothel until she found the back door she remembered having to see her mother step through before she went off to school. Following close behind, Saren's eyes scanned the area for security devices. There didn't appear to be much, and those that were present were easily sabotaged, keeping the alarms silent. Once inside the brothel, Jane couldn't help but cringe at the stench yet she kept pressing forward through the hallways, both her and the turian Spectre passing along closed doors. To their disappointment, the doors were locked. Jane and Saren quickly scrambled into an alcove to avoid getting spotted.

"If we're going to free the slaves here," Jane suggested quietly, "we might have to find the pimp and steal the keys from him."

"Forgive my ignorance concerning human jargon, but what does the term 'pimp' mean?" Saren suddenly went silent as a door leading to the basement creaked open.

"A pimp controls prostitutes," Jane explained, "or in this case…sex slaves."

Saren flared his mandibles in irritation while he and Jane stepped into the basement. They slowly descended the stairs and they tilted their head until they could get a decent view of several human women of various ages, some of them begrudgingly changing into various outfits that are equally degrading. Jane leaned closer to Saren.

"They normally live down here," Jane whispered, "and when they were needed to service clients, they would perform such services in specially decorated rooms upstairs."

Saren continued to remain silent, eyes scanning the room. There were several doors leading out of the locker area where the various women were. Still sticking to the shadows, Saren put his head to the side of one of the doors, beckoning to Jane to follow closely. As she followed him, she remained as quiet as she possibly could.

"Stay low and stick to the shadows," Saren whispered, "pick off the hostiles who have their backs turned and are out of the view of their companions."

They slowly toed into a dimly lit rest area, only occupied by three men. They hadn't heard the door open and were too busy talking to each other to notice them approach. With their guards down, Jane blasted their heads off with her pistol before they could even have a split second to react. Grabbing the head of the third and violently twisting it till the victim's neck released a distinct crack, he put them down on the floor quietly.

"Nicely done. You've learned well," Saren complimented.

Jane nodded to Saren in confidence. Lining up against another door, Saren could hear another couple of gang members talking to each other. Counting to an agreed signal, the two burst into the room, each shooting a guard in the head with their suppressed weapons. The were in a small security room with cameras looking around the nearby block, around the brothel, and in the basement.

"Perfect," Saren hummed, setting the cameras on a loop and hot-wiring an 'all clear' signal to keep the remaining members of the brothel unaware.

Now all they had to do was determine where this brothel was importing sex slaves and free the ones here. Saren took a moment to access the terminal.

"Looks like they haven't expanded too far yet," Saren informed, looking over the few documented locations of other brothels.

They were all located on Alliance colonies located throughout the former Attican territories. And based off the data he read from the terminal, it seems that one criminal organization was running all of these brothels including the one Jane's mother worked in. Saren quickly copied the data onto an OSD before striding back into the main area in the basement.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us," Saren said, "do you still want to continue?"

"Yes," Jane nodded, reading through the list of prostitutes with softness in her eyes, "these victims…they deserve better."

Having cleared out the brothel of criminals, Saren contacted Admiral Kohaku who agreed to send an investigation team to assist the trafficked victims. This gave Saren and Jane a chance continue their mission. With the help of local authorities, Saren and Jane gradually helped the women stumble out from their prison.

"If the police here are as good as they say they are, they'll get the help these people need."

Jane nodded, not paying attention to one of the officers who took notice of her. By the time the brothel emptied, Saren and Jane emerged from it only to come across the officer in question.

"Excuse me, Spectre Arterius?" the officer started, "I just have a few questions for you concerning your accomplice."

"What about her?" Saren returned, raising a concerned brow.

Jane stiffened the instant she recognized the officer.

"It's her criminal record. She has quite a list that'll put her away for a long time," the officer explained.

Saren crossed his arms in a stubborn manner.

"And what if I told you that she was doing her time working by my side?" Saren remarked.

"Excuse me?" the officer paused.

"Being a Spectre is a dangerous line of work and she's untrained," Saren clarified, "I'd say that's a much more productive use of her than keeping her behind bars."

The officer gave both Saren and Jane a puzzled stare. He couldn't help but wonder why a turian Spectre would take interest in a human with such a terrible reputation like Jane herself.

"Well, I suppose it's only a few minor fees anyways," the officer replied, backing off, "do what you will, Spectre. We won't get in the way."

Relieved, Jane followed Saren away from the brothel and down the street, making their way towards the spaceport.

"A bit too close for comfort," Saren mumbled, "want to pay any visits before we leave?"

Jane let out a soft sigh before she shook her head.

"I'd like to pay my respects to my mother," Jane replied, "but since her death, I couldn't find where she was disposed of."

"I'm sure we'll find some other way," Saren reassured.

Without further trouble from the local authorities or the gang they had attacked, the two left Earth as quickly as they had arrived. While the shuttle was flying to the Arcturus Mass Relay, Jane took her time to read the locations on the map of the galaxy.

"Any response from the station?" Saren asked.

As they were passing through the heart of the Alliance military, Saren wanted to make sure they wouldn't have problems going forward when they inevitably landed on a colony and wrecked havoc on the next segment of the trafficking ring. Previously, they had sent the Alliance the information concerning their findings in Jackson City.

"N-Not yet," Jane shook her head.

Saren continued to look over the data they had collected, namely the building layout of their next target, looking for possible weaknesses in the architecture. In the course of a few hours, the shuttle emerged from a Mass Relay and made its way to the system where the next destination resided in.

* * *

Benning was a thriving human colony under the watchful eye of the local Alliance naval forces. Unfortunately, in the rush to promote colonization in the Alliance's early years, some crime simply slipped through the cracks and had pooled into sediment in the under-layers of the establishments. When Saren and Jane disembarked the shuttle, they made their way into the community near the spaceport. Unlike a colony like that of Eden Prime, Benning was a more urban location, dedicated more towards ship manufacturing, goods construction, and general trade. Getting out of the shuttle and exiting the transit station, the two found themselves in an environment vastly different from the shabby decay of Jackson City. Almost up to the standards of the Citadel races, the buildings were sleek, new, and pristine.

"I do have to give credit where credit is due. It's a rather lovely colony," Saren complimented.

Jane nodded in agreement.

"I haven't seen anyone I'd consider suspicious yet," she replied.

"I've got the address, but we should probably keep a low profile for now. Doesn't seem there are many non-humans here," Saren proposed, gesturing to one of the back alleys.

As they crept through the labyrinth back alleys, Saren continued to remark how every cranny and nook was clean and free of litter. By anyone's guess, no one would suspect that something sinister was going on behind closed doors. There were plenty of nooks and crannies in the city, but there was a distinct elevator at the base of an indistinguishable warehouse that led into a basement of horrors and misery. When Saren found the elevator, he turned on his omni-tool and hacked the control panel, forcing the elevator door open before he led Jane inside.

"All aboard the elevator to hell, going straight down," Saren hummed with amusement as he watched the doors close.

While the elevator began to descend, Jane took a moment to rest her back against the wall. The Benning branch of the slaver ring was bigger than that of the ring on Earth, as the gang wished to move away from controlled space. Now that the Earth governments were cracking down harder on their trade with each passing month, they were forced to move slightly away from the heartland, but still wished to keep some tangents to allow continuous trade with other markets. The elevator stopped at the base floor and the door opened, prompting Saren and Jane to emerge and venture through the corridor.

The dark, clean concrete corridors echoed with work being done in the distance. Carefully crouching behind a pile of crates, Saren and Jane watched as two gang members pushed a couple of covered cages through the open to meet a trio of heavily armed guards.

"Here's the recent shipments, sirs. They're still in good condition."

"That doesn't excuse you being late. Now drop them off at storage and check in with the boss. He's been on the horn with scouts around the colony figuring out if you've been compromised," the leader of the guards chastised.

"Y-Yes sir," one of the gang members nodded while he bowed submissively.

As the members with the cages continued onward, Saren gestured to Jane, having her follow him behind the three guards. Taking the two farthest back first, they proceeded to stab the two subordinates, before Saren pulled his blade back out and threw it into the exposed back part of the squad leader's head. Dragging the remains aside, they continued onward into the dark corridors. Along the way, they would scope ahead for any guards on patrol.

For most of their time wandering the dark, they would mostly stalk the guards on their own, careful not to make any noise. For the guards who were among their companions, they regrouped to take the group down simultaneously to reduce risk of confrontation. Continuing their subtle infiltration, they saw the two henchmen from earlier enter a brightly lit office.

"You two seem awfully calm. Care to explain what took you two so long?"

"Message from Earth sir. Details are sketchy, but word is that someone busted the remaining unit in Mississippi. Also, intercepted coms from the authorities suggest they're making their move on the other places too," one of the smugglers answered, "my guess would be that they had finally inserted a mole, and ratted the others out."

The man in a suit that sat at a desk chair groaned in frustration and clenched his fists.

"If they are cracking down as hard as you say they are, start rounding up the team," he commanded, "newer members are questioned first, older ones last. None of them leave planetside until we're sure this unit doesn't have any saboteurs lingering about. I'll be contacting the other posts to see if we need to relocate. Get moving."

The smugglers saluted before they left the office.

"Shit. What a mess. It's a nice place, too," one mumbled as he walked out of the office.

"Oh, come on. I thought you hated this place," the other retorted, following close behind.

"Yeah, but it's mostly the vibe that old hyena gives. I don't understand why the slimy fuck had to be assigned this place."

"He's just a businessman. Take away the suit and he- GAK!"

"Wha- HURK!"

Jane and Saren quickly got to work taking down the two once they reached a safe distance from the office to remain unheard. They both wasted no time as they dragged the henchmen out of sight.

"You want to do the honors, or should I?" Saren asked as he reloaded his weapon.

"I'll do it," Jane nodded.

Stacking up on the office door, Jane took point as she caught the manager by surprise, shooting him multiple times in the chest before finishing him off with a shot to the head. With the coast now clear, Jane scoured the office for any useful information and Saren stepped inside to aide with her task. Picking through everything they could, Saren got to work at the terminal, unlocking the doors to the cells where the various victims were being held.

"There. I've also found a few more files we can send to Arcturus Station before we return to the Citadel. Also, I must admit you're doing very well."

Saren gave Jane a good view of the files he found.

"Thank you, Saren," Jane smiled.

Checking on the inmates, Saren repeated what they had done last time, and informed the colonial militia of their presence and their discovery. With marines combing the area for other contraband and hidden passages while medics tended to the mistreated captives, Saren and Jane walked out happily.

"I think a break is in order once we return to the Citadel. Did you have anything in mind?"

He did still feel discomfort towards humans, with the now single exception of Jane. He didn't see her so much as an investment as much as he did now see her as a companion.


	7. Beginning Integration Progress

Having completed their mission, Saren and Jane finally returned to the Citadel. While the Spectre took his time to submit his report to the Council, Jane had a chance to rest from the mission that seemed to exhaust her. Saren looked over his report one last time before sending it. He quickly got up to get something to eat from the kitchen. Once he found something in the pantry, he ambled over to the living room and sat in a lounge chair, considering Jane was resting on the couch.

"You learned fast. Was there something you learned from the streets that you'd applied here?" he asked.

Jane shifted until she focused her eyes on the Spectre.

"The job seemed relatively straight forward. Keep silent, sneak around, kill all the bad guys, and find whatever you can to set the next stage of the puzzle you're working on. It doesn't seem to be that complicated. Just B-movie spy stuff," Jane answered.

Saren let out a soft chortle before he opened the package in his hands.

"I suppose that's a good way to summarize the matter," Saren mused, "maybe you'd like to find a job doing something similar?"

Even if Jane didn't respond, she started dozing off. Saren figured he shouldn't disturb her, so he set off to eat his snack.

* * *

By the time a week passed, Jane went through the evaluations and she barely managed to pass. This gave her and Saren a chance to gather supplies for her classes. By the time the classes did start, life did become relatively routine for Jane. Initially, Saren would accompany Jane going to the academy to show her ways of getting there on her own. With Jane capable of taking care of herself, he could resume his work, writing up reports or completing other duties. During and between classes, Jane figured she would seek out chances to open up to others in an effort to make friends. At the moment, she waited in the library not too far from her next class. She considered using this time to find a spot to study through the work from her previous classes and when she found a desk, she sat down next to a human reading through an engineering book. He was a thin scrawny kid with ginger-colored hair. He had crutches by his side of the desk. Peaking from behind his book, he slowly greeted.

"Uhh, hey," he started with a pause, "something I can help you with?"

Jane paused before she turned her head towards the scrawny human.

"Not at the moment," Jane replied softly, "but thanks for the offer."

"Sorry, I'm still new here," he nervously chuckled, "the name's Jeff, but my friends and family at home mostly call me Joker. Don't ask why."

"Jane Shepard," Jane greeted, "I'm also new here."

"So what are you here for?" Jeff asked as he put a book marker in and set his book down.

Jane pulled out one of the textbooks and flipped to a particular page.

"I'm just here to catch up with everyone else," she answered.

Joker cautiously reached for a bottle of water.

"You're here because you got held back?" Joker clarified.

Jane nodded.

"But even that was beyond my control," she added.

"Yeah. I'm looking to be a pilot after all this. Even if I don't see much action," he replied, slowly bringing the bottle to his lips as if it were somehow hazardous.

Jane nodded as she began reading through a chapter in the textbook.

"Sure, there are pirates and raiders practically camping at the next Mass Relay, waiting to tear you apart, but so long as you manage your barriers properly, know how to control even the worst-designed vehicles, you'll be safe," Jeff concluded.

While she listened, Jane also read through her notes.

"I take it you're the strong-and-silent type then?" Joker stammered.

"I'm not really sure myself," Jane replied.

"You really don't seem to be in the mood for talking. I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable," he reiterated.

Jane gave Joker a puzzled stare for a moment.

"Hey, you're fine," Jane reassured, "I haven't recalled the last time I made friends with another human."

"Wait, what?" Jeff stalled, nearly dropping his bottle, "no offense, but how does that work?"

"It's a long story," Jane replied, "are you sure you want to hear about it?"

Jane kept her eyes locked onto Joker while she kept studying the chapter in question.

"I suppose I have time until my next class," Jeff confirmed nervously.

While they were both focused in their studies, Jane took some time to relay what it felt like to be homeless.

"It was hard, but I managed to hold out well enough while dodging local police until Saren found me," she finished.

"So you're bunking with a Spectre for now until you get on your feet?" he asked.

Jane couldn't help but blush. Jeff stuttered, realizing his error.

"I…that came out wrong. I don't mean to imply…anyways, I should be going. Talk to you later?" Joker said.

"S-Sure," Jane nodded, "why not?"

If anything, Jane had been focused on survival that she almost had little to no clues on living a normal life. Her awkward introduction to Joker proved this.

"Great," Joker chirped, "here's my omni-tool number for later."

With that, Jeff picked up his crutches and bag, stood up, and limped away to his class. Jane went back to studying while keeping track of time before her next class.

* * *

By the time her classes for the day ended, Jane returned to Saren's apartment and she settled into the living room so she can continue studying through her subjects.

"Welcome home," Saren greeted from his office, "I brought a snack home for you. It's on the kitchen counter when you need it."

Jane took a moment to head over into the kitchen, finding a bag of pretzels on the counter. Saren continued to sit at his desk, glaring at some unfinished work C-Sec had sent him. With more insight on Jane's origins, he now had a sparked interest in her pedantry, searching for any surviving relatives he could possibly inform of Jane's existence. She was lonely, and at least giving her someone to turn to would be beneficial to her. Coincidentally, Jane took a moment to glance at the TV screen just as it was in the middle of commercials, one of them recently catching her eye:

_{Up next, more is revealed on a ring of slave traffickers riddled throughout Alliance space, dug into the most developed of human colonies. More will be revealed after the break.}_

As the host continued to speak, there was a brief montage of faces that continued to slide by, one which she instantly recognized among the other faceless victims.

"Mom," Jane whispered softly.

Jane checked the time, and when she noticed the documentary would start in a few minutes, she took this chance to schedule a recording of the program. Maybe at a later time, this documentary would be a useful resource should a lesson project be presented which she could put her personal experience into good use. Saren continued to work away, looking over names, identifications, locations, and addresses, looking for more answers. Finding what he needed, he stepped out.

"Jane, I found something that…" Saren began to inform, "oh."

Jane looked up from the program, still having the report recorded onto her omni-tool. Just as the program started broadcasting, Jane examined the report Saren sent her.

"So I…still have relatives?" Jane paused.

Saren nodded before he sat down next to Jane.

"I found a few matches. Relatively distant connections, but it's someone. And I've admittedly been curious as to where you come from."

Jane nodded as she continued studying from the textbook in her hands. All the while, she also watched as the documentary showed footage of Hannah performing in a school play.

 _{…The gang didn't have a specific strategy as to how they targeted victims, they did have a specific list of traits victims needed to meet before they could be considered a good target for abduction to be both satisfactory to their customers and minimize the chance of earning unwanted attention. As such, victims were often from the lower echelons of Alliance society, which were still plentiful in the early stages of human expansion,}_ the commentator continued, as the camera continued to hover over Hannah.

The camera also showed footage of human families in impoverished places as parents tried to find jobs to provide for their loved ones.

_{The eventual rapid territorial expansion was prompted by a variety of environmental and economical issues that persisted over much of the previous centuries, ultimately reaching a climax at the end of the Twenty First Century. As such, the Alliance was initially unable to see to the revision of various institutions to rectify the problems. As the population began to disperse over the various colonies and they began to adopt Prothean-based technologies, these issues have began to show signs of improvement. After an anonymous tip off, Alliance authorities have began to make headway against the ring.}_

Saren placed his hands on Jane's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

"You haven't lost everything yet."

Making a brief glance at Saren, Jane smiled in relief.

"I could make some arrangements to meet them if you want," Saren continued, handing her a datapad with everything he'd collected on her extended family.

Well, Jane did read the information of her extended family. She was still aware that she still had other things to focus on.

"I know I've still got school, but I could make arrangements to see them as soon as I'm ready," Jane sighed.

Saren nodded.

"If making contact with them is what you'd want to feel more secure," he added, "I can see to it that it's done."

And with that, Jane went back to her task as Saren returned his focus to the documentary she took interest in. By then, the camera switched to a brief interview of Hannah's grandparents.

 _{We were excited for her when she accepted the offer,}_ Hannah's mother explained, _{we thought this gave her a brighter future apart from the rest of us. We hadn't anticipated that we had given her up to such an atrocious system, bent on abusing the bodies of these poor people.}_

The camera shifted to Hannah's father.

 _{We noticed how all these nice kids from these smaller neighborhoods and communities just up and disappeared without a trace. We'd talked with their friends and family, and they had no idea either,}_ he added.

The camera then shifted to the authorities investigating the empty brothel in Jackson.

_{More recently, the Alliance has been able to begin dismantling the operations scattered throughout the homeworld. However, there are still at most hundreds of undocumented stations located throughout the fringes of the Alliance territories.}_

Saren sighed before he placed his arm around Jane's shoulder.

"So how did your day go?" Saren asked.

"It went well, all things considered," Jane replied, "it's like how you'd always expect a first day to go."

Jane leaned closer to Saren.

"Although," Jane added, "I tried making friends with a peer in the library. It was pretty awkward."

"Odd how?"

Saren was looking over Jane's physical profile he'd been sent from Huerta while he continued prompting Jane with questions.

"Maybe I haven't had any friends before," Jane admitted, "besides you and Nihlus."

"It was your first day. You'll eventually find where your associates lie. Excuse me for a moment."

Saren headed to his office and walked to his closet where he kept his armor. Pulling out the chestplate, he pulled open a panel around the back of his right shoulder blade to where he had a small compartment for his built-in camera. Plugging in the OSD to his desktop, he continued to review the footage he had of Jane helping him combat the smugglers. Hypothetically, her harsh upbringing did cause her to be adaptable and develop an untrained and improvised form of self-defense, granting her the minimal skills she needed. Overall, it was rather amusing to watch her take down moderately trained gang members who were twice her size and weight, had at most ten years of training and experience, and the youngest members were roughly around seven to eight years older than she was. He couldn't help but chuckle between sips of his tea. While Jane did notice Saren left the living room, she still focused on her studies and the documentary. Her studies continued into the night, as Saren continued to work with Jane's profile. It was simply an idea, but he was still curious as to how far he could take it before it was ultimately rejected. In fact, he hoped Jane would be at least accepted. He could even mentor her himself if necessary. If he could bring her along enough times, maybe he could put her name forward under the premise that he witnessed her potential and that he wished to see if he could train her. Though it would be strange to have a human as a Spectre, he saw no argument standing against his proposition.

* * *

_She was at the dinner table, back at the brothel doing her homework. It was an old, wooden table that teetered because the legs were uneven, but it did its job well. She had been home for almost half an hour now, and her mother was still handling a client in the bedroom. She picked up her head when she heard an inaudible conversation pick up in terms of tone. Now, her mother advised her to not pay attention to the noises in her bedroom, but after a while, the young girl couldn't concentrate on her homework as the noises bothered her._

_She had peeked in during one of her sessions and learned early on not to interrupt when she did. Soon after, her mother gave her some details about her job and that she did it to make sure she could attend school and find life away from the brothel. She tried to resist the urge to peek when she heard noises other than what she knew was her doing her job for her clients, but she was now more desperate than ever to hear what her mother was yelling about with her clients. She quietly slid off the chair and tiptoed out of the dining room. Stepping up the door, she put her ear against it, listening closely to what was happening._

_She couldn't understand most of the words at the time. She could hear what she could distinctly tell were profanities coming from both individuals._

"… _That's final. I'm not going anywhere until you pay in full!" she could understand her mother saying._

_The client replied, but it was so slurred, unfocused, and accented that she couldn't make out what he was saying. Moments later, she could hear her mother begging the client to stay back. With an audible smack, she could hear the sudden impact of something hitting the floor. Followed by more screaming, she could hear more dragging concluding in the squeaking of her old bed. The squeaking continued, and only gained momentum as she howled louder and he growled more vigorously like a hungry, rabid dog. All she could do was sit there, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand while tears streamed down her cheeks. The thought of what could be occurring behind those doors made her feel nauseous._

_The noise simply continued without pause or hesitation as the man continued to brutalize her mother in some unsightly manner. Suddenly the noise stopped, leaving little besides his heavy grunting and her heavy gasps for breath. She continued to beg as he chuckled, followed by intensified scratching sounds and hard thumps, getting closer and louder with each occurrence. Suddenly, the door opened up to reveal the still naked client, with greasy hair, uneven yellow teeth, and bloodshot eyes with her stripped down mother while he was forcefully dragging her by her ankles along the floor. He started barking at her mother, prompting the young girl to put her hands over her head in defense and forcefully shut her eyes._

* * *

Opening them back up, she found she had fallen on the bedroom floor before sharply looking to the window. She caught her breath as she tried to choke back the sobs, looking out into the midnight Citadel landscape. Still shaken from the dream, Jane staggered to her feet, reflecting on the times she yearned to save her mother from such a horrid life.

Stumbling out into the living room, she found the area to still be dark and lifeless like the rest of the nights in Jackson. Wandering upstairs, she made her way to Saren's room, looking for the only other present in the apartment. She stopped at the door and peered through its crack, noticing the turian Spectre was still asleep. Fortunately, his bed was relatively big, meaning she could move in without disturbing him. Quietly sliding in, she kept silent as she felt herself sink into the warm sheets besides Saren, before allowing herself to sink away into her drowsiness. If anything, the sense of security allowed Jane to sleep through the night.

Saren slowly stirred as the artificial morning light from the Citadel outside shone sharply on his face. Getting up he leaned up in bed, blinking his eyes to adjust them to the light when he suddenly realized something was in the bed with him. He turned his head sideways, his eyes locking onto Shepard as she still nestled under the covers. Deciding to let her sleep a bit longer, he edged to the side of the bed and stood up before walking to the door. He stepped out of his room and made his way to the kitchen before he started preparing his kava. Sitting down at the living room couch, he reached for the remote and turned on the television to watch the morning news. It was only a while later before Jane stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Saren greeted.

Jane nodded before she took a few seconds to heat a cinnamon roll. After that, she sat down on the couch next to him and started eating.

"Was something wrong last night?" Saren asked.

Jane took a moment to think over the question.

"I thought my problems would be put to rest when I helped take down the traffickers I mentioned," Jane answered softly, "but a nightmare from last night…proved to me otherwise."

Saren gave a concerned frown.

"Does something still worry you?"

Jane took a bite out of her cinnamon roll before she focused on Saren.

"I know I couldn't do much for my mom now," Jane sighed, "but I still miss her. I just find myself wishing I had a chance to save her back then."

"You feel guilty she had suffered as much as she did?" Saren clarified.

"I remember many nights where she would come out of the bedroom heavily bruised or where she was heavily abused by the more aggressive customers. When I finally came back one day, I found her beaten to death with her blood coating the walls. I was scared, afraid the same would happen to me. So I just ran. I stripped off whatever I had in that miserable hellhole and never looked back," she explained, struggling to blink back tears.

Saren caught a glance of a teardrop and his subvocals let out a soft coo. He reached over and brushed his talon against her face.

"I can understand your loss," Saren reassured, "still, it's important…it's important to know that you were lucky. You managed to escape the brothels, and while you're alone, you won't suffer the fate she did."

Jane nodded in agreement.

"We can't bring them back," Saren added, "but the least we can do is to lead better lives for their name's sake."

"Right," Jane agreed before she returned to her cinnamon roll.

The emotional tension began to ease as the conversation ended and their attention was drawn back to the news. To be frank, Saren didn't mind the thought that he'd been in bed with Jane. It was definitely strange, but not in a sense where it'd be considered taboo. Either way in his mind, it was still a good chance to let her open up a little more before she went on with her day.


	8. Unspeakable Underground Experiments

"Yeah. I've got my eyes set on the Alliance. It's not so much out of 'duty and honor', but it'd still be pretty cool. Besides, what's a guy like me got for work?" Joker sighed.

Jeff, Jane, and a new friend she'd met a few weeks into classes named Kelly all met at a cafe in the wards, not too far from the academy.

"If you feel that they'd allow someone with your condition in, we won't hold you back," Kelly replied cheerfully.

"Thanks, Kelly," Joker chirped.

It had been several months since she first enrolled, and Jane was now living comfortably on the Citadel with Saren.

"So what were you thinking about, Jane?" Kelly asked.

Jane rested her chin on her palm.

"I was thinking of the possibilities where I can…save lives," Jane answered.

"You thinking of the Alliance, too?" Jeff commented, "hey, it'd be great we'd enlisted together."

Jane blinked twice.

"I hear the Alliance is influential on the behalf of humans," Jane replied.

"So you had something else in mind? C-Sec maybe?" Kelly prodded.

"I'm still trying to decide," Jane answered.

Jane took a moment to sip her mocha.

"Hello, Shepard. Talking with your friends?"

Saren had walked along doing errands when he had noticed Jane, Joker, and Kelly at the cafe and decided to stop to talk. Yet, Joker and Kelly's eyes widened in surprise.

"Whoa!" Joker exclaimed.

Saren put his hands up in false surrender.

"No need to panic," Saren reassured, "I just wanted to stop by. I assume you're all doing well?"

"W-We're fine," Kelly blurted, letting out a nervous chuckle, "we're having a blast."

"I'll let you be, then. I'll see you at home, Jane," Saren acknowledged calmly, before turning and continuing down the street.

With Jane, Joker and Kelly exchanging glances, they returned to their drinks.

"So…what's life like with that ghost?" Jeff eyed the Spectre as he walked out of view.

"We get along well," Jane answered calmly.

The two remained skeptical.

"Really? I mean, I've heard plenty about Spectre Arterius," Kelly reiterated, "none of it particularly good."

"He's a good individual under that carapace," Jane argued, "it's just he doesn't show it publicly."

Joker and Kelly gave Jane a confused stare.

"If you're alright with him, that's fine," Joker resumed after a long pause, "it's just…weird, that's all."

Jane pulled out one of her textbooks and flipped to the chapter one of her classes covered for the day.

"You can't judge a book by its cover," Jane reached for her tea as she picked up where she left off.

* * *

Finals had only been a month away, and the trio were anxious for the grinding transition to the final stage for the year. With Jane determined to study, Kelly and Joker volunteered to find some snacks so the trio could enjoy while they crammed for finals.

"You think she's the type who'd like chocolate covered pretzels?" Joker asked Kelly, stumbling down the aisle, "I mean, she already likes pretzels, and adding chocolate is essentially making them twice as good."

Kelly picked up the package of chocolate-covered pretzels. The two were too busy to notice a salarian and two unpainted mercenaries enter the mostly empty shop and approach the clerk. Joker and Kelly searched the shelves and found their favorite snacks before placing them in the shopping basket. Walking to the front, they held themselves back as one of the mercenaries held the shop owner at gun point while the salarian provided the talking. Staying low and out of sight, the two watched from several aisles over, but were unfortunately out of hearing range.

"Uh, what do you think that guy wants from the clerk?" Kelly whispered, her hands fidgeting nervously.

"It's just a shake down. Let them pass, then we'll buy our stuff and go. There's nothing we can do here," Jeff explained.

Kelly nodded in agreement, so all they could do was wait until it was safe to check out their items. Dropping the clerk on his knees, the salarian and his guards left the store as silently as the entered, leaving the two in abject shock.

"Shit! Oh shit! I can't believe-!" Joker panicked.

"Hurry, let's buy our stuff and follow," Kelly ordered, rushing to the front counter.

The clerk barely staggered to his feet and followed through with scanning the items before Kelly and Joker paid for them. Rushing out of the shop, the two stuck as close as Jeff's handicap would allow them. They stalked the salarian and his two henchmen through the bustling crowds to a large medical clinic.

"Ok, this is just odd," Joker commented.

"Yeah," Kelly hummed in agreement, "whoever he was, he sure is confident to operating in the open like this."

Joker and Kelly tiptoed closer to the large clinic as they could, taking cover in alcoves to avoid being spotted by any witnesses. They entered one of far back rooms, taking a long glance at the equipment the salarian doctor had.

"Okay, this is really weird now," Joker muttered, "if he has this much funding for this much equipment, why does he need to rely on shaking down the locals for funds?"

"Why funds necessarily?" Kelly asked.

"What else could it be?" Joker shrugged.

Kelly carefully examined the equipment.

"Hey! What are you two doing back here? This area is off limits to patients."

Kelly and Joker shuddered and turned their heads towards an asari assistant entering the room, glaring at them suspiciously.

"Umm, we were looking for the rest rooms and got lost," Jeff hastily lied.

"Yeah," Kelly played along, nervously fluttering her hands, "and we're sorry for disturbing you. If you want us to leave, that's perfectly fine."

"No, I can take care of this," the salarian they spotted from earlier came into view, "I'd prefer to handle troublemakers my way."

Adrenaline surging through her veins, Kelly scanned the area for something she could use to distract them long enough for her and Joker to escape. She quickly snatched a bunsen burner from the counter and aimed it at the salarian.

"Don't come any closer!" she yelled.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to handle the two of you with care."

The doctor pulled out a small sidearm, shooting both with darts. Feeling an electric jolt ripple through their bodies, Kelly and Jeff fell to the ground, unconsciousness taking them seconds later.

* * *

Jane had been studying through her notes for a while, yet she couldn't help but wonder why Kelly and Joker haven't sent her any indication of their arrival. She began to walk to the front door of her apartment in case she'd left the door unlocked and quickly checked outside in case she hadn't heard them knock. All the while, Saren scrolled through the reports in his omni-tool.

"Something wrong, Jane?" Saren could hear her approach his office without looking.

"I haven't heard from Joker since an hour ago," Jane answered.

"Maybe they're late? Where were they going before they came here?" Saren asked, turning his chair around.

Jane checked the message app in her omni-tool.

"They said they were going to get some snacks," she explained.

Saren sighed nervously.

"This isn't entirely legal, but it's necessary. Can I have their omni-tool numbers?"

Jane hesitated for a moment. While she was concerned for their safety, but their privacy was also just as important. After a moment of silence, Jane scrolled to the contacts and tilted her omni-tool within Saren's line of vision.

"Even with their omni-tool addresses, I can still track them…or where their omnitools are at least. Even then, it should give me a general idea of where they were taken," Saren explained.

This gave Jane the encouragement she needed to give Saren the numbers. It didn't take long for the Spectre to find their last recorded whereabouts.

"A medical clinic?" Saren paused, "I hope nothing bad happened to them."

Jane couldn't help but scratch her head.

"I can't recall a clinic being a place to buy snacks," Jane pointed out.

Saren quickly suited up before heading to the door.

"We should go," Saren advised, "at least check on them, make sure they're still alright."

Jane took several minutes to gear up before meeting up with the turian Spectre at the front door. Soon enough, they headed out of the apartment and made their way through the Presidium. The clinic they tracked Jeff and Kelly to was as clean and good looking as the likes of Huerta Hospital, but not nearly as big or heavily staffed. Walking in, Saren was greeted by the receptionist.

"Hello, and welcome to Siffen Hospital. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked.

Saren glanced nervously at the empty waiting room.

"Yes, is it at all possible that I could see a Jeff Moreau or a Kelly Chambers?" Saren requested, "it's important."

The receptionist accessed her terminal and scrolled through the database of current patients in the clinic.

"I don't see anyone matching those names here. Perhaps you were mistaken?"

Saren was about to protest when he held himself back.

"No, I think that'll be alright. Say, do you know where the water fountain is?"

After the receptionist pointed them in the right direction, the two sauntered down a back corridor towards the bathroom areas.

"Something's amiss. This way to the back storage room," Saren advised.

While slithering down the corridor, they kept a keen eye for anyone on patrol. With no one watching, Saren quickly tried to get to work on the lock. However, the lock was tougher than anticipated, causing him to bite back a curse.

"Shit. Whoever he is, his locks have some well-written algorithms. Fortunately, there's more than one way to crack a lock," Saren replied as he put on a suppressor onto his pistol and aimed it at the lock.

Without hesitation, he squeezed the trigger, the round blasting the lock off. Breaking in, the duo found a small storage room, still empty of any staff.

"Stay close, we really can't afford to be caught back here," Saren beckoned.

Using his omni-tool, he scanned the room for security devices and set the ones he did find to loop.

"Right. Nothing much here. Look for anything that might suggest a hidden passage. There's got to be more here."

"Copy that," Jane nodded.

Jane carefully slithered along the wall, keeping an eye open for any unusual dents or placement of the furniture inside. Sliding her hand along the inner wall of a shelf by the wall, she felt the rectangular grooves of an uneven part of the shelving unit. Eyes fierce with determination, Jane pushed at the grooves, causing a hidden door to slide open and catching Saren's attention.

"Nicely done, Shepard. May I ask how you found it?" Saren hummed admiringly.

Jane turned her head towards Saren as he approached her.

"I found an unusual part of a shelf and pushed at it," Jane answered.

Saren nodded in approval before he led her through the secret door. The white, almost porcelain walls gave way to dark, stained steel walls as they cautiously stepped down the dimly lit steps. Down below, a few staff still wandered about, moving equipment and stock upstairs and back. It was surprisingly clean downstairs, with a few walking freezers and nothing obvious that would've signified any unethical behavior. There were numerous surgical tables, some with fresh blood being tended to by cleaning bots. Saren still kept track of his omni-tool while he and Jane snuck through the dark corridors of this underground section of the facility. Entering another hallway, there was a short corridor with medical chairs in prison cells.

"Oh good, you're awake."

They were startled when they began to hear talking down the hallway.

"W-where are we?" Kelly started, drowsiness and pain in her voice.

"You were out almost an hour. Enjoy your beauty sleep?"

Kelly nodded as she groaned softly and tried to stand to her feet, but she soon realized she was strapped to her chair as much as Joker was.

"Augh-! What the hell!" Joker grunted painfully.

"Relax, kid. Your condition was noted before we got to work with the two of you. It was actually smart of your employers to send the likes of you two. Security thought you were another set of patients until the doctor saw you. Funnily enough, you guys aren't as sneaky as you think," another voice added.

"Look, this is just a big mistake!" Kelly screeched desperately.

"That's cute," the first voice repeated, "but lies aren't going to get you out of this shithole. Here's the deal: you tell us who you work for, what caught their attention, and what they sent you here to do. You will answer our questions in a manner we find satisfactory, and you have three chances to get the questions right. If not…the doctor is always in need of new patients."

"Are you kidding?!" Kelly protested, "we aren't working for anyone and no one sent us here!"

"And there goes your first try. This is not a trivia game, so cut the bullshit."

Saren and Jane picked up their pace as they hustled to the cell where Jeff and Kelly were being held. The two were both strapped to the medical chairs, with Jeff keeping very still to avoid hurting himself on his restraints. Two heavily armored and armed guards faced the captive friends with their backs to the bars, oblivious to the Spectre's presence.

"Look, we don't even have an idea why the hell this needs to be so private!" Jeff barked defensively.

"Strike two," the second guard reminded.

Jane put her suppressor on her pistol as she positioned herself.

"We were just curious! We don't know who your employer was, we don't know why he was at the convenience store we saw him at, and we don't know what he was after! This is just a mistake!"

"Your persistence is admirable, but wasted. Luckily for the two of you, the doctor wanted us to test a new serum on the two of you, providing accelerated results."

As the guard to the left turned to fetch the syringes from a case on a table, Saren and Jane peeked from cover to gun down both captors before opening the cell.

"S-Saren?!" Joker exclaimed.

"Speaking. Jane caught wind of your capture when you took longer than expected to show up. How'd you end up down here?" Saren asked as he kept guard, watching down the corridor from where they came while Jane took to removing their restraints.

"We were shopping for snacks when we saw this salarian threatening the clerk," Kelly began to explain.

"A salarian? What did he look like?" Saren asked.

"He had dark brown skin, was slender and tall, and had two red stripes under each eye," Kelly quickly answered as she rubbed her wrists as she got up.

The four began to move out as Saren filled in the blanks.

"Thought so. Dr. Saleon owns this facility, and he's quite a shadowy figure. For now, I want to get you two to safety before I double back and gather more evidence."

Saren scouted ahead to ensure the coast was clear before he led Jane, Joker and Kelly forth.

"Why would this Dr. Saleon want us?" Joker asked.

"C-Sec has a file on him. They managed to find him tangentially connected to the black market, but regulations prevent them from finding out just how deep those ties go. For now, we'll get you two on your way back to our apartment while we dig a bit more. Stay there and lock yourselves in, but contact us if Saleon decides to pursue," the Spectre answered.

The group quickly walked back to the main lobby, avoiding the attention among the few other patients presence. By the time they made it outside, Kelly hooked Joker's arm around her shoulder.

"You know where your apartment is, right?" Kelly pointed out.

Saren responded by sending the address to Kelly's omni-tool, giving her a chance to examine the coordinates.

"Right," Kelly told Saren, "we'll take care!"

With Kelly escorting Joker as far away from the clinic as they could, Jane and Saren snuck back inside.

"I usually don't like going into one of these places blind like we are right now," Saren told Jane, "right now, we've got to find what Dr. Saleon is really doing here, get a sample of his product or some notes to prove his work here is real, and get out to have the evidence analyzed. I'm getting the sense whatever he's doing isn't exactly following any particular medical oath. Ready?"

"Yes," Jane nodded.

The two returned to snaking their way through the hospital. They hid the bodies before they left, but it would only be a matter of time before some stumbled onto their progress, forcing them to act quickly. Incapacitating any personnel they encountered and executing any 'guards' that limited their movement, Saren and Jane made their way back to the basement and began to sweep through the work areas and storage units. Saren hacked through a terminal to pick through notes while Jane entered a freezer to retrieve a sample.

While the Spectre read through the data, he grimaced at his findings. It was a message that confirmed the 'good' doctor's ties to the black market via organ harvesting. He'd have to download the data and have the files analyzed further before he could make any tangible conclusions.

"Shepard, have you found anything?" Saren called over to the freezer as he started to copy files onto an OSD he brought.

Jane emerged from the freezer with a sample in her hand.

"Just a bunch of containers with…what I can only guess are organs," Jane started, "I mean, they do remind me of another guy on the streets in Jackson when he was blown open by a police shotgun."

"Let's obtain a few before we leave," Saren suggested, heading into the freezer and reaching for a crate.

By the time they had enough evidence in their possession, they burst out the door. Close behind, there were numerous personnel firing at them while Saren kept himself and Jane protected by a biotic barrier. Stepping forward in front of the crowd, Saleon simply pushed down the barrel of the gun as he squinted at the Spectre and his accomplice. The salarian doctor caught Saren's attention, but he immediately brushed it off as he and Jane made their way outside. Climbing into a cab, they rode off to safety. The Spectre's human accomplice rested her back against the seat as she held the sample close to her chest.

"So," she panted to get air back into her lungs, "where to now?"

"Spectre Academy on the Presidium," Saren answered, "the resources there will help us get a general idea of what Saleon is up to. And tell your friends to meet us there; chances are our apartment won't be safe for much longer."

Jane nodded and upon cue, she sent a text message to Joker and Kelly.


	9. Controversial Organ Marketing

Stepping out of the cab, Saren and Jane carried their stolen contraband in their arms, glancing nervously around them as they walked in. Jane was awestruck with the view as she walked through the security check. The inside of the academy was like how criminal investigation centers or labs were depicted on television, with people running around, bits of exposed electronics everywhere, and the sounds of beeping and conversation drowned out the room. Saren led Jane through the corridor as they made their way towards the office floor.

"The guys at the lab should be able to start finding who these people were," Saren explained as he set the crate on a table, "we find these people have gone missing, so we could tie them to Saleon."

The scientists in the room took notice of the crate and after Saren gave them a nod of approval, they dug through the crate's contents.

Time passed as a salarian took DNA samples. Jane ran off to the front counter to greet her friends while Saren continued to look over the salarian's shoulder.

"What've we got, Bau?"

"The harvested organs do belong to people who are within the system," Jondum answered, "the problem is that these people are still alive."

"What…care to explain?" Saren exclaimed.

Sure enough, every last organ they managed to find 'belonged' to healthy, living individuals scattered throughout the station, and were recently recorded as still attending their workplaces in recent record.

"That doesn't add up. Start running profile checks and look for links," Saren instructed.

"Maybe the organs were grown in the lab?" Jondum suggested.

"That's the problem: there were no test tubes or growth jars. My accomplice and I scoured that basement and found nothing. I'll start looking over other locations on the OSD I picked through. Report to me when you've found something."

"Right away," Jondum nodded.

Saren got to work looking over contacts, names, locations, and business operations. It was like having half of a painting, not knowing how Saleon did his work, as the clinic was his center of operations and none of his product 'manufacturing' occurred off-site. The other locations were little more than distribution fronts and didn't consist of the necessary equipment either. Looking over his contact and employee names didn't help either, as the employees were all low-income individuals and didn't have the expertise to grow the product in their own homes either. Growling in desperation, he stood up and walked over to where Jondum was stationed again.

"I've been looking over more of the names and identities of the victims these organs were harvested from. Every last one is still alive and at work on the Citadel, and every last one holds multiple jobs," Bau informed, glancing over his shoulder as Saren strutted in.

Saren paused for a moment, choking on his previous question as a new one formed.

"Multiple jobs?"

"As self-destructive as it is, yes. All the victims harvested are relatively low in their social standing. Makes sense that he'd target these—"

"No, that's not what I meant. Start looking at their jobs and find where they work," Saren interrupted.

"Right," Jondum nodded.

Soon enough, the two came to the stark realization that all the genetic samples came from people who worked at Saleon's clinic. Jumping into action, Saren quickly began to call each and every employee, asking the few who picked up if he could speak with them concerning their employment with Saleon. Every last one was either 'away' or didn't pick up at all. Saren hastily rushed out to the front lobby seeing Jane still talking with her friends.

"Jane! We've got to head back to Saleon's clinic now!"

Jane paused in her conversation and turned her head towards Saren.

"Sorry, guys," Jane blurted, "I should go."

Jane wasted no time as she scurried towards Saren.

"So what did you find?" she clamored.

"Those containers were full of harvested organs; organs that are from Saleon's employees, who are still alive and well," Saren explained as he hailed a taxi, "we can find more when we catch him, but we have physical proof that he has ties to the black market."

Saren and Jane hopped inside and the turian Spectre relayed the destination before the cab took off into the air traffic.

"Do you think Saleon would also have wanted to perform the same procedures on my friends?" Jane asked.

"I can only guess. However, I'm getting the sense this case is more complicated than it appears on the surface."

Twenty-five tense minutes passed before the two jumped out of the taxi at the front of Saleon's clinic.

"For now, we catch him and one of his employees. I don't know how, but they're all tied—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Saren and Jane were knocked back by an explosion as the clinic was suddenly and violently consumed in flame. With a high-pitched buzz ringing in her ears, Jane planted her hands on the ground and lifted herself up just enough to try scanning the area in search of Saren. Saren rolled onto his feet, grumbling with annoyance.

"Dammit! He's cleaning house!"

Saren knelt down and reached out his hand. Jane grasped his hand with her own and he assisted her to her feet. The turian Spectre quickly opened up his omni-tool.

"Citadel Com-Control, this is Spectre Arterius. I need the immediate location of an individual known a Dr. Saleon as well as all of his outgoing messages within the last three hours. Spectre code one-one-one-six-two-zero-zero-seven."

 _{This is Com-Control central, your code has cleared and permission has been granted. Sending you the coordinates and messages now,}_ the voice at the other end responded.

With the messages and marked location on the station at his finger tips, it didn't take long for him to learn of the twisted doctor's intentions.

"He's heading for the docks, let's go!" Saren instructed.

Saren and Jane sprinted away from the burning clinic and made their way towards the docks.

He had to admit the doctor was smart for setting up his clinic so close to one of the shipping yards. It was only a fifteen minute walk, meaning he had plenty of time to give them the slip, if not leave altogether by the time they had arrived. Without losing Jane in the process, he could at most bring that time down to five minutes at his own running capability. Rushing around the crowds, occasionally pushing a random individual out of the way, he drew out his pistol and detached the suppressor and continued forward, shooting a couple of rounds in the air to get those still ahead to part ways and give him an easier time. Rushing down the steps onto the docks, he could see straight ahead Saleon and what looked to be almost thirty people of various species following close behind, making a beeline for a small civilian transport.

"Dr. Saleon! You're under arrest!"

The doctor shot a look back with wide eyes before picking up his speed. Brushing past the crowd of employees, they simply stumbled about in a zombie-like fashion. Their eyes looked tired, their bodies suggested they felt confused, and they simply stumbled after their employer like cattle. Shooting the engine coolant line still attached to the shuttle, Saren managed to spill some of the flammable liquid onto the docking bridge leading to the shuttle before setting it ablaze. With nowhere else to run, Saren continued to chase Saleon as he sprinted down the docks, looking for an alternative method of escape. Finally closing the distance, the Spectre dived at the salarian, slamming him against the ground before holding him at gunpoint.

"Dr. Saleon, on behalf of my duty as a Spectre, you are under arrest for confirmed connections to illegal markets and distribution of unregulated product in such markets. You have the right to remain silent in the court of law. Anything you say can and will be used against you. Under the circumstances you cannot afford one, an attorney will be provided for you."

"Please! This is a big misunderstanding! You have—" Saleon begged painfully before being jerked onto his feet in hand cuffs.

"We'll review your paperwork later."

The various messages Saleon had sent in the hours before were messages to his henchmen to fetch all of his employees and set the stage for his departure from the Citadel, including rigging his clinic with heavy explosives. Finally, he had all of his accounts liquidated and fully withdrawn. It didn't take long before Jane caught up with Saren.

"Shepard, are you all right?" Saren asked as he had Saleon sitting at his feet.

"I'm all right," Jane reassured Saren.

"Good. Let's round up the employees and call in C-Sec," Saren replied, "we'll stay here until they arrive."

* * *

With Saleon on his way to a cell in C-Sec HQ, the twenty seven doctors and staff received the medical aid they needed. The two waited patiently in the hospital lobby as they waited for news on what Saleon had done with his own people.

A turian doctor came out to greet the two.

"Spectre, human, this way."

Saren briefly glared at the doctor for what he nicknamed Jane before continuing.

"What did you find?" Saren asked.

"As expected, his employees were heavily drugged. It's commonly found among slavers and muggers, used to lower the inhibitions of their victims," the doctor explained, "however, that's the least of their concerns."

The turian doctor led Saren and Jane out of the lobby and down the corridor before they stepped into a small room not too dissimilar to the room Jane stayed in with three of Saleon's victims in medical beds.

"We scanned each of them and found consistent readings concerning the chemicals they had imbibed and unexplained…well, we put one under and cut them open. Dr. Saleon had been growing additional organs inside of his victims."

Few things scared Saren anymore, but those words send shards of ice rippling down his spine.

"What?!" Saren exclaimed, "I don't understand doctor, could you explain further?"

"With the notes you've provided, we've had better insight to what is happening to them. Along with a series of genetic modifications made to the victims and chemicals used to provoke the changes made, the victims' bodies will begin to grow tertiary organs alongside their own organs. From what I can tell, this is where he's been harvesting his black market organs," the doctor added.

Jane shuddered as she felt a chill down her spine.

"What kind of people would want those kind of organs?" Jane paused, "those who need organ transplants?"

"It's how it works. Whatever good you could normally think of, the criminal underworld has found a way to either make it cheaper, mass produced, or sold in a manner which allows you to skip all the fancy paperwork," Saren answered.

"The drug is easy enough to wait out. However, I'm still concerned about their genetic conditioning," the doctor expressed, "we'll call someone in and keep them for a month or two, see if there's any way we could reverse it."

"Thank you for your input," Saren acknowledged.

The two left Huerta shortly afterwards without another word. Saren looked Jane's way as she sent a message to her friends.

"Trouble sure has its way of finding you," Saren mused.

Jane tilted her head towards Saren.

"Well, I was born in a shitty world," Jane shrugged.

Chuckling, Saren ran his talons through Jane's hair, causing her to lean into the touch.

"The best are hardened by childhood hardships. I'd say you meet all requisites."

Jane's eyes widened in curiosity.

"R-Requisites?" Jane paused.

"For Spectre candidacy," Saren clarified.

Amidst such small confusion, Jane placed her hand behind her head.

"Spectres are chosen from those who have proven themselves as capable. You've fought your own battles and helped wage a war no one asked you to join. I say that's more than enough evidence to suggest you might be worthy."

With those words, Jane gave Saren a soft smile.

"I appreciate your offer," she said, "maybe I'll look into it."

* * *

The two arrived home as Jane invited her friends back to her apartment. Hastily returning to the apartment, Jane and Saren stripped off their armor and took to the showers. With Jane standing in the shower of her own bathroom, she thought of the many possibilities she could provide service to the galaxy as a Spectre. Law enforcement was one of them, and she couldn't help but think of other people living in worse situations than herself. With thoughts swimming in her head, she took the time she needed to scrub the grime out of her hair.

It was an exhilarating thought, training her. She was much more patient and much less impulsive than Nihlus could ever hope to be, and she was an opportunity to bring new blood to the Spectres. Humans may have left a bad taste in his mind, but she was the one exception he was willing to accept. Now, training Jane as a Spectre was one thing, but getting others to accept the idea, including Alliance officials and the Council itself, was another. Personal vendettas, social norms, and politics aside, he simply couldn't wait for another year to pass and for Jane to finish her education. He stepped out of the shower to dry himself off and put on a fresh change of civies.

Once Saren emerged from his room, he met up with Jane, Kelly and Joker in the living room.

"Hopefully, you two aren't hurt from your experience?" Saren asked the two.

Joker scratched his head.

"Yeah, we barely made it out unscathed," Joker chuckled.

"I'm glad we found you two when you did. The victims we did find weren't so lucky given their current conditions. Fortunately, that crazed bastard will be going away for a long time," the Spectre said, landing himself in an armchair.

Jane placed her notes on the table, compelling Kelly and Joker to do the same.

"Sorry we got caught," Kelly apologized, "we were going to bring along chocolate covered pretzels when we spotted the doctor shaking down the shop clerk. We decided to follow out of curiosity."

Jane blinked twice.

"I appreciate the thought you had for me," Jane smiled, "if it makes you feel any better, I can bring some snacks from the pantry."

"You guys were at that small convenience store ten minutes from the academy?" Saren asked, "damn, I thought I recognized him. Saw him amongst Saleon's cattle."

Kelly and Joker had yet to come up with a response while Jane stood to her feet and made her way to the kitchen, searching the pantry for their favorite snacks.

"Wait, really? Him?" Jeff was surprised by the revelation.

"One of the victims recovered from the drug faster than the others," Saren explained, "his subjects were usually poor and desperate. Saleon would pay them a small fraction of the profits. If they didn't grow properly, he'd leave them in. To cover his tracks, those who died from the malformed organs would be incinerated."

Kelly couldn't help but shudder.

"And to think he would want to grow organs inside us," she stammered.

Jane arrived shortly after with a couple bags of snacks.

"Here you go," Jane announced.

Jane set down the bags of snacks and sat down at the living room table, much to Kelly and Joker's enthusiasm. The trio began studying for finals while Saren once more retreated to his office. He was expecting a call from the senior investigator at C-Sec who was working on the case he and Jane tore right open in a single afternoon. As soon as he accepted the call, he saw the distinct white plates and blue markings of Castis Vakarian staring back at him.

 _{Spectre Arterius, it's good to see you got my message,}_ the officer greeted with no attempt to hide his disappointment.

"And I assume you received word of Dr. Saleon's arrest?" Saren asked.

 _{Of course I did. This was my case until you rammed in like you always do,}_ Castis spat, _{still, I have to give credit where credit was due. I was at a dead-end with my case against Saleon.}_

Saren's expression remained stoic like he usually did.

"You're welcome," Saren said calmly, "do you have any questions?"

 _{I'd at least like the case details before I call this case closed,}_ Castis requested, letting his gaze drift away.

Saren let out an enthusiastic hum.

"I assume you'll put this to good use?" he asked.

_{Normally, this evidence would've been illegally obtained. Normally, I despise you Spectres for being limitless in your ability to pursue crime how you see fit. Unfortunately, I'm at the steep disadvantage of having to admit you're quite efficient at doing your job.}_

Feeling a boost in his confidence, Saren flared his mandibles into a grin.

_{Additionally, I'll need to ask you some questions for answers I'll need to bring up during the hearing next week. Unless you plan on fully stealing the investigation from me.}_

"I accept. So, what did you have in mind?" Saren returned.

 _{I'll start off by asking you what first drew you to Dr. Saleon,}_ Castis began.

"Initially," Saren answered, "it was just a random encounter. I had read up on the files that C-Sec had dug up on him, but I simply intervened initially out of interest in saving two possible victims before they could undergo genetic conditioning. My accomplice was friends with these victims, and she wished to get them to safety."

 _{Interesting,}_ Castis commented.

"It was a chance encounter, nothing more."

Saren continued to give the information Castis needed for the hearing. At the end of the interview, Saren plugged his OSD into his terminal and quickly compiled its contents in a message.

"That should contain everything I've collected and everything you'll need for this case. I hope this will come in handy for the proceedings. I'd hate to have to take the time of day to hunt Saleon down if the court decides to let him go."

 _{Thank you, Spectre,}_ Castis nodded, _{I have what I need.}_

Satisfied with a job well done, Saren rose to his feet and exited his office to rejoin Jane.


	10. Memorable Educated Accomplishments

Jane never thought she'd live to turn 21, and yet she made it to this particular year.

With her second year edging closer to its end, she had been studying intently for her finals. Joker even started going through with filling out applications for enlisting in the Alliance for both himself and Kelly.

To top it all off, Jane also had an evaluation essay to write and turn it in a day before the end of her last semester. Luckily, they provided a list of options in terms of what kind of essay she can write, so while she read through the options, she decided to pick the autobiography option for her essay.

Meanwhile, Saren had been making the necessary preparations for overseeing Jane's training as a Spectre candidate. He'd already put her name forward months before, and had been keeping his eyes out for a number of increasingly dangerous missions to test her with. All the while, Jane started researching issues related to the subject of her essay.

Saren walked into the living room and noticed Jane working away on his way to the door.

"So what do you have left for the year?" he hastily asked.

Pausing in her tracks, Jane scooted only a few inches backward, allowing Saren to catch a glimpse of her rough draft of her essay and her notes for her final exams. Giving her an encouraging nod and smile, Saren left for the Spectre armaments supply. If Jane would be training under him, he would need the best weapons provided and possibly the best attachments, upgrades, and modifications for both their weapons and armor. He took the time he needed to examine the equipment on the display.

Not sure as to which Jane would prefer, he opened up his omni-tool and sent out a quick message.

_{Would you prefer something for fighting at a range, or up close?}_

Saren waited a minute or so before Jane sent her response:

_{I'm ok with doing both if that's possible.}_

Saren quickly purchased a shotgun and an assault rifle and began to fill out the paperwork.

"Preparing for something, Spectre Arterius?" the Spectre arms manager asked.

"A crazy idea, but I wanted to see how well this would work," Saren acknowledged before sharply turning and walking out with both cases in either hand.

It didn't take long for Saren to return home, and Jane was halfway through with her rough draft.

"I assume it's going well?" Saren inquired, setting down the cases in the kitchen.

"I'm still working on it," Jane replied before she began reviewing what she wrote so far.

Saren opened up the cases to examine their contents.

"Well, when you have time, come have a look at your new weapons."

It was only half an hour before Jane finished reviewing what she had completed of her rough draft before she stood to her feet and made her way to the kitchen. She took notice of the cases and examined the weapons inside. The first one was an assault rifle of turian design while the other was an automatic shotgun from a manufacturer she didn't recognize.

"What do you think?" Saren asked.

"I like them," Jane nodded at Saren.

"Good. Once you're done with finals and have graduated, we'll start practicing with them. Handling an automatic rifle or shotgun isn't exactly like handling pistol," he hummed happily.

Jane gave Saren a soft smile, which told him how much she understood him. She stepped out to the back balcony and started tending to her garden. Thanks to her efforts, flowers sprouted gracefully from the pots. He continued to watch her as she went outside onto the balcony and tended to the garden she so routinely cared for, taking a moment to admire Jane's tenacity. He could admit these little things Jane enjoyed doing helped her cope with the hardships she endured most of her life.

* * *

One more week passed, and it was the day of the final exam for Jane. She was up before Saren was that morning and was practically at the door by the time he had finished with his breakfast.

"All right, Saren," Jane called over, "wish me luck!"

"Show them what you're made of!" Saren sat down at his couch and turned on the TV.

Fifteen minutes hadn't passed when he heard the doorbell ring. Getting back up, Saren walked to his front door and opened it to find Nihlus and his shit-eating grin.

"I heard someone's taking up a new apprentice," Nihlus greeted.

Saren simply stared as he gestured his former protege to come in.

"I take it you've learned to be jealous."

"Jealous? I can't believe you think so low of me, my old friend," Nihlus sarcastically mocked, "genuinely surprised? Considering how much of a stubborn rock formation you are, I can't believe that not only is Jane still living in your household, but that you were the one who put her name forward to the Spectres."

Saren folded his arm as his expression hid his annoyed reaction.

"I genuinely feel she has the qualifications required," Saren remarked.

Nihlus' face didn't change.

"Huh. And here, I was thinking that the likes of you and the old breed from Relay 314 couldn't change. However, apprenticeship aside, I'm still waiting for a proper answer as to why you decided to let her live here. Has she given some insight to the 'good traits' humans have?"

"She is worthy of companionship, in my opinion," Saren answered.

Nihlus struggled to keep a straight face, but still let through a suppressed, wheezing laugh.

"Is that so?"

Saren didn't bother answering the recent question.

"For what the Saren I _**knew**_ would've described as 'human trash', you're sure taking a liking to Jane. Are you're sure you're not—?" Nihlus continued.

"No, I'm not," the older Spectre interrupted sharply.

He wanted to deny the allegations of any sort of 'emotional' connection, but he realized the signs the more he thought back upon the last two combined years. He hadn't thought of whether Jane felt the same way for him, yet he brushed it off for now.

* * *

"Guys, relax. It can only get easier from here," Joker said, attempting to calm his two friends.

"You've been nervous about exams before," Kelly retorted as she took a moment to rest, "and now you're confident all of a sudden?!"

"Oh come on, we've done the grinding, we've attended all the study sessions, and we've done everything else that was asked of us. We've got this, trust me," Jeff repeated.

"Right," Jane nodded as she placed her hand on Kelly's shoulder.

"What I'm trying to say is that we're prepared and we've done everything we've can to study. If we mess this up somehow, at least we can go home with the thought we tried," Jeff corrected.

Having rested for a few minutes, Jane stood to her feet.

"Well, no time like the present. Let's go, guys," she said, beckoning to the others as the students within their unit filed into the room.

The students scrambled for their seats with the time for the exam inching closer by the minute. The next few hours were a pure endurance test, straining both the students' knowledge and stamina as every last one raced to complete as many answers correctly within the time given. The three would occasionally look up from their work to give a hopeful glance to one of their friends before looking right back down at their work. Throughout the test, Jane examined each question and answered them as accurate as she could. Math, comprehension and writing, human history, the sciences, and politics flew before her eyes like flames from a bonfire. She knew what she was doing as she filled in the answers. Or, at least she felt like she knew what she was doing. And the end of the third hour, Jane, Kelly and Joker managed to finish their exams.

"Well, I hope we did well," Kelly mumbled nervously.

Jeff, on the other hand was as calm as he was when he entered the academy.

"Kelly, for the last time: relax," he whispered, "worrying will only make the results worse."

And with the exam hour over, students lined up to turn in their work to the front desk, with Joker, Jane and Kelly among them. The three felt a silent ease pass between them as they saw the results. When they did finally exit, they could barely hear each other over the bustling noise of the other students.

"I know one thing: I'm being a pilot. What about you guys?" Joker asked.

Jane gave a soft smile as she straightened her spine.

"I've accepted Saren's offer to undergo Spectre training," Jane answered calmly.

"What?" Kelly started with disbelief, "really? You're going to be a Spectre?"

Jane nodded.

"So what's it going to be like? Isn't being a Spectre the equivalent of being a spy from one of those ancient vids?" Jeff was over the moon about the possibility.

"I'm sure it's more than that," Jane replied.

Jane peered into her portfolio containing her final draft of her essay.

"Now, I think I have an essay to turn in," Jane continued, "I'll catch you guys later."

Jane headed over to her classroom to turn in her assignment and put the borrowed OSD on her teacher's desk. Turning around, she found herself being approached by two men in blue naval uniforms entering the room, causing her to raise her eyebrows.

"Excuse us, are you Jane Shepard?"

Jane felt a chill sent down her spine. How did she end up attracting attention from Alliance officials? Did they receive word about her from the Council?

"Y-Yes," Jane nodded.

"No need to feel worried, ma'am, we just had to ask a few questions. You've had our interest for some time now," the officer reiterated.

Jane couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

"How so?" she asked.

"We're aware that it has been an invasion of privacy, but we had to pull a few favors, and the topics you've discussed within your essay say plenty about your personality," the other officer started, "furthermore, with what seems to be minimal training, you have impressive capabilities on the field, seeing the few times you've worked with Spectre Arterius."

At that point, Jane couldn't help but suspect that someone told them about her involvement with Saren.

"So, do you have any questions?" Jane asked.

"We're confident that you are not interested in Alliance pursuits by this point. However, we still wanted to inquire if you would want Alliance backing in your rise through the Spectres," the first officer answered.

Jane placed her finger on her chin while she thought over her question.

"We understand if you need time to think over our offer. Here is the contact info for the fleet stationed on the Citadel. We understand if you say no."

The two left without another word after they handed off a small list to Jane. After examining the list, Jane stepped out of the classroom and headed out of the campus, making her way through the Presidium to Saren's apartment. She entered her apartment to find Saren on the couch watching the news.

"Afternoon, Jane," Saren greeted, "I assume the finals went well?"

Jane sat down next to him.

"I'm guess you could say I passed," Jane nodded, "and while I was turning in my essay, I…you might want to have a look at this."

Jane handed the list of contacts to the Alliance fleet to Saren, giving him a chance to read it with an intensive gaze.

"The Systems Alliance approached you?" Saren clarified.

"Yes," Jane nodded.

"I see. Look, I just had to ask if you felt uncomfortable in my household?" Saren replied.

Jane leaned closer to Saren, placing her hand around his back.

"It's the opposite," Jane corrected, "I feel comfortable with you."

"That's…good to hear," Saren muttered.

By now, his heart was rattling around in his rib cage uncontrollably. Saren had many questions swimming in his head by now. Did that mean she cared for him back? He did have a minimal understanding of human emotions after Relay 314, but didn't know of the signs for the likes of mutual attraction. He would have to research on interspecies relationships later as for now, he figured he should consider discussing with officials from the Systems Alliance, which was something he wasn't thrilled for.

"Umm," Saren advised, "for now, get something to eat. I need to get something."

He hastily walked to his office, slammed the door behind him, and got to work looking up human anatomy. It took him a while before he found some credible resources on human anatomy and how relationships worked.

Jane knocked on his door a few minutes later.

"Is everything alright in there?" Jane called over.

Quickly bookmarking the page and saving it on his omni-tool, Saren got up and walked to the door to answer.

"Yes," Saren offered, "would you rather save the celebration for before or after the graduation ceremony?"

Jane clasped her arms behind her body and leaned forward, her eyes locking onto Saren's.

"Maybe after graduation?" Jane suggested.

"Sounds good," Saren slowly replied with a nervous grin.

Once Saren stepped out of his room, he led Jane over to the living room.

"Now, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" Saren asked.

Jane took a moment to scroll through her omni-tool and found the coordinates to an aquarium in the Citadel.

"Unless you have something taking your day. I was thinking of going somewhere to relax, like the aquarium," Jane proposed.

Smiling, Saren placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I accept the offer," he nodded.

Quickly dressing in casuals, the two took a walk to the nearby aquarium in the nearby wards. On display was a wide variety of fish and sea-life of which Jane hadn't seen before. The two would listen to the VI guide and how it described each species in full detail. Saren would occasionally comment on the few species he had encountered. More often than not, it was the more dangerous and endangered types. All the while, Jane peered at the exotic fish species swimming in the tanks, mesmerized by their unique details as she placed her hand on her chest.

"It's incredible," Jane said softly.

"Yeah. It is," Saren agreed, looking at a tank containing a squid-like creature.

The two sat down at a bench near the center. Ahead, they watched as various marine creatures continued on with their lives in their respective tanks.

"I've arranged for us to start your training a couple of weeks from now," Saren informed, "I'm not sure how the Council or the Alliance will see this, but I at least hope you won't see anything wrong with you working under me."

Jane gave Saren a soft expression.

"I'd like that," Jane nodded.

With that, Jane rested her hand near Saren's and leaned her head on his arm.

"Come to think of it," Jane mentioned, "maybe since I was too focused on surviving on Earth, that didn't leave enough time to find romance or anything like it."

"Romance?" Saren was fighting to keep his tone, breathing, and heart rate under control, "what exactly do you mean?"

Jane also blushed at the same time.

"You know," Jane blurted, "dating, relationships, even the smallest things that make love memorable."

"I get that, I just didn't think…well, you mean to say you have feelings towards me?" Saren asked cautiously.

He didn't want to ruin his own chances towards her. Damn Nihlus for ever forcing him to confront this possible connection.

"Yeah," Jane nodded softly, "I guess you could say that."

Saren started to feel some relief.

"It's good to know you have similar feelings," he sighed.

Saren placed his arm around Jane's shoulder, allowing her to scoot closer to him.

"People won't look highly upon us for this relationship, but that's not stopping me and I hope it won't stop you either," Saren whispered into her ear.

Jane nodded as she leaned into Saren's embrace. He felt calm and secure with her in his grasp, especially with the staring glances the two received from civilians passing by at the aquarium.

"So you want to take this back to the apartment?" Saren whispered.

Jane nodded before she and Saren stood to their feet.

"You don't mind taking this slow, right?" Jane asked quietly.

Saren nodded in agreement.

Returning to the Presidium, Saren decided to take the two of them to a restaurant to end the evening with. It was a grill with an open patio, sliding windows, and lighting that helped the place stand out as the dark of night began to fade into place. With Saren and Jane seated at a table in the patio, Jane took her time to read through the menu.

"I don't mean to intrude, but I didn't think you'd see me as such," Saren started nervously.

He tried thinking this outing as similar to the one time he had dated an asari Spectre when he first graduated as a Spectre, but there was something subtle that just made it feel too weird. Jane placed her hand on his in an attempt to reassure him.

"Look, I don't want to force you to do anything. If 'no' is the answer, that's fine," Jane reassured.

Saren enclosed his talons around her hand in response.

"But I do want this. I didn't realize this, but I do."

With some confidence boosting within both of them, it was a short while before Saren and Jane made their orders after they read through the menu. The two continued to talk until they received their entrees, causing a dawning thought to come to the Spectre's mind.

"Ugh, I knew I forgot something. Do you have dextro allergies?"

"I…really don't know," Jane admitted.

He frowned as he picked up his utensils.

"I hope not. Even then, there's some way we can make this work, right?"

Jane nodded just as she started eating.

"I thought you'd have wanted to find something closer to your own species," Saren admitted, beginning to eat his own meal.

"Why find someone closer to home when I could have someone I can trust?" Jane proclaimed.

"I…I don't know what to say," he stumbled in response, "I hadn't expected to hear something like that. But…I trust you too, Jane."

Throughout the course of the meal, Saren and Jane also took this chance to gaze at the mesmerizing nighttime scenery.


	11. Night of Neediness

One week passed, which ended the school year. Jane met up with Kelly and Joker dressed in graduation suits while Saren and Nihlus purchased tickets to attend the ceremony at the campus. Saren lingered towards the back of the crowd, watching Jane and her friends attend their graduation ceremony towards the front. He wasn't entirely ready to make it well known that the two of them had an emotional connection, so he felt more inclined to simply hang back and keep out of view until he could be with Jane in privacy.

It was only a long while before the campus's headmaster stepped up to the stage. He smiled as he gave his speech, praising the students the academy had produced. It was a tired and clichéd method of conveying pride to the audience about how they were the future generation and how they would help to build a better, brighter future, but it did help to remind him that Jane, his Jane was up on stage, far away from the fate she had been unfairly given by a cruel galaxy. After the speech, the students in the graduating class began lining up to greet the headmaster and retrieve their various diplomas, degrees and the like. Jane stepped up when her name was called, with tears of joy twinkling in her eyes. When she stood eye to eye with the headmaster, she shook his hand before he handed her GED.

As the ceremony progressed, she watched as Kelly and Jeff stood to accept their degrees. Gathering one more time for a group photo, Jane, Kelly, and Jeff walked down talking cheerfully about their collective success.

"I can't believe we actually did it!" Kelly exclaimed.

"Of course you can't, that's why you were so nervous going into the exams," Jeff teased playfully.

"Give her a break, Joker," Jane chastised with a grin.

"Ok, ok, my bad," Joker gave a light-hearted chuckle.

Saren met them outside of the chamber the ceremony took place in.

"Good to see the three of you rising victorious," he hummed with amusement.

Joker and Kelly straightened their spines the instant they took notice of the turian Spectre.

"T-Thank you, Spectre," Kelly stuttered, giving Saren a salute.

"Please, we're all civilians outside of uniform. Just call me Saren," he dismissed.

Jeff had learned to hide his nervousness by now.

"Right. Jane, we'll be getting drinks at the bar. Want to come along?"

Jane shook her head.

"I'll pass," Jane declined, "I have my own way of celebrating."

The duo watched as they walked off to a table of booze the academy set up.

"I've done my fair share of preparation," Saren hummed, "any other celebrating you'd like to do before tonight?"

Jane took a few steps closer to Saren.

"Maybe you could show me a favorite place in the Citadel you like to visit?" Jane suggested.

"I've got a few ideas," Saren knew of a few levels high up on the Presidium reserved for get-togethers and other ceremonies.

He wanted to give her a good look of the Presidium from high up. Saren and Jane left the campus, though they stopped at the apartment so Jane could change out of her graduation robes and into a simple minidress.

He guided her to an elevator not too dissimilar from that which lead into the Citadel tower. With a brief ride to the top of the building, they exited into a large, clean chamber. At the other end was several large windows that would open up onto a balcony overlooking the Presidium far down below. Outside they were a good twelve floors up and could feel the drafts brush past them.

"It's a lovely view, no?" he asked.

Jane gazed beyond the balcony and took in the cityscape.

"It's amazing," Jane smiled.

"I sometimes would come up here during my jogs, get a good look around while I catch my breath," Saren explained, watching the skycars pass by below.

Even the pools from below glistened sparkles from the water.

"It's times like this when I could stand on the overhanging structures. Of course, my Spectre clearance could only get me up there so many times before even the Council calls me out."

Jane couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of irritated Council members even if she hadn't met them in person.

"Don't get me wrong. The only reason I can do as I please is because I've earned their favor. Still, they're the type who will stab you in the back if it meant their career," Saren sharply added.

Jane tilted her head towards Saren.

"So stick with me," Saren advised, "I'll make sure they won't turn on you so easily."

Jane smiled in relief.

"Thank you, Saren," she replied.

* * *

That evening, Jane stood under the shower spray, anticipating a memorable night she was eager to spend with Saren. Similarly, the turian Spectre had taken the time to file down his claws a bit to avoid scratching Jane. She was tough, but hurting her would be bad for their first big night together. By the time Saren finished with his talons, he double-checked the supplies they'll need for their encounter, including dextro allergy meds. Washing himself off in the shower, he quickly exited in nothing more than his pants before walking to his bedroom.

It didn't take much longer before Jane stepped into the bedroom in a nightgown with spaghetti straps and a short hem. She found Saren staring out his window and gazing at the cityscape.

"Saren?" Jane paused.

Saren snapped out of his thoughts and focused his eyes on Jane. Moments later, he closed the curtain while she stepped over to the bed.

"My my, you look stellar," he grinned hungrily as she climbed onto the bed.

Saren slowly approached Jane as she reclined on her back.

"I come pretty close," Jane agreed, "and here, I can easily see you intimidating the scumbags of the black market."

Saren climbed onto the bed and crept closer to her.

"The size does help. Bigger always has better results," he cooed before licking up the side of her neck.

Shuddering, Jane perched her hands on his shoulders. Continuing the licking, he scooped up her shoulders with his left hand while keeping himself supported with his right. Softly, Jane cupped Saren's mandibles with her hands and pulled him into a passionate kiss. His heaving breathing was emphasized by the movements his tongue made feeling inside of her mouth. Carefully, his hand felt her back for a zipper or latch to undo her dress with. It didn't take long before he realized that he couldn't find a latch or a zipper, so after he broke off the kiss, he nuzzled her face with his mandibles while he reached for the hem of the nightgown and she raised her arms above her head.

"I suppose we won't be needing that," Saren purred.

Saren lifted the nightgown over her head and tossed it aside. After he leaned forward, Jane brushed one hand against the back of his neck, her fingers savoring the plating underneath his fringe. A warm shiver crawled down his spine as she rubbed her hand against the area, causing him to release a small, yet audible gasp. Her confidence apparent in her grin, Jane used her other hand to stroke the side of his waist. Jane certainly knew all the right places to touch, as he began feeling his plates shift. Saren figured he should return the favor, so he ran his hands down her sides, causing her to arch her back. He reached down to unbuckle his pants and shove them down a bit as the two continued. When Jane tilted her head downwards and caught a glimpse of the Spectre's length, she couldn't help but feel mesmerized by its ridges and spines as she brushed her hand against it. Shuddering, Saren traced his hand along her stomach until he found the apex between her legs.

Her hand felt so soft against him. Putting himself against her, he continued to lick at her neck. All the while, Saren slid one filed talon into her folds, grinning as she mewled in his embrace. Continuing to feel inside her, he closed in for one more kiss. To ensure her readiness, Saren circled his thumb over her small nub, compelling her to buck her hips to his touch. Over the course of minutes, the turian Spectre used his other hand to massage her breast, flicking one talon against her nipple. Neither of them didn't recall how much time had passed, yet by the time Saren noticed fluid trickling out of her nether regions, he sat up and allowed Jane to straddle her legs on his lap.

"You might want to hold on," Saren advised.

Nodding in agreement, Jane perched her hands on his shoulders. Being sure to regulate his aggressive approach, he thrust himself inside in a single motion. The instant she felt him inside her, Jane groaned as she clung onto Saren and wrapped her legs around his girth, taking the time she needed to adjust. Saren pulled her close to him and leaned his head forward to lick at her neck. He had thought asari were soft and flexible. Jane felt like she had filled every crevice around him like a liquid. The way the ridges and spines brushed against the right places sent tingles through her nerves, so she rested her head against his shoulder, nuzzling her face against his. Saren's uneven breathing emphasized the rate at which he pumped into her. Moaning, Jane ground her hips against his, slowly building up friction between them.

"Jane, I…ooooh," he mumbled incoherently.

Saren began to pick up the tempo a bit, straining himself not to be too greedy and take it all in a single moment. Jane felt pressure building up in her core while she ran her hands along his back. Likewise, Saren stroked her back with his talons. Saren started to let up on himself slowly, accelerating at a rate Jane could gradually adapt to. Every inch of his body tensed with the electric sensation of her against him. With each thrust, slick fluids coated both of their nether region as Jane edged closer to her limit, keening as her breath quickened.

"I-I thinnnk it'dd be s-saaafe if I…" Saren didn't want to cause Jane to go through anaphylactic shock and thought maybe pulling out would be ideal.

"Y-You sure?" Jane stammered between gasps.

He didn't have much of an option before he felt Jane suddenly clamp down on him. This became even more apparent when he heard her cry out his name as she tightened her grip on him. He soon after felt his own orgasm, causing him to tighten his own grip.

"I…I…that was…" he was still trying to catch his breath.

Seconds later, Jane and Saren started coming down from their high while the turian Spectre withdrew from her. He flopped onto his back beside her.

"Wow…you were amazing…" he gasped.

"Same can apply to you," Jane whispered.

It took him a few moments to recuperate before he stood from the bed and reached for the nightstand's drawer, opening it and pulling out a container of dextro allergy meds.

"So, is this just a toe in the waters, or are you interested in round two?" Saren asked.

Jane slowly sat up just as Saren climbed onto the bed.

"I guess I could go one more round for the night," Jane nodded.

"Well, I myself don't have any problems with levo allergies," Saren chuckled, "so I can afford to do something a little more like this…"

Saren scooted down a bit on the bed and put Jane's legs over his shoulders to level her nether region with his face. Understanding about what he had in mind, Shepard rested her back on the bed just as Saren dipped his prehensile tongue inside of her. She was still slick inside with a mix of their fluids still dripping out. His tongue continued to rile around in her, feeling inside. Moaning, she pushed her hips forward in an effort to encourage him to push in deeper. He was all too happy to comply while he brushed his talon along her nub. From random movements, he shifted into a pattern of swirling around inside her, as it seemed to get more of a sensational reaction out of her. While she savored the pleasurable sensations surging through her nerves, she dug her fingers into the sheets. He smiled as he felt her legs squirm with ecstasy. Saren decided to pick up the tempo and see how Jane would react. As anticipated, she arched her back and tightened her grip on the sheets. He watched in amusement as she continued to writhe in pleasure while he continuously intensified his treatment.

Jane attempted to call out Saren's name, but her speech began to slur as no words came out of her mouth. Just as she grew halfway closer to her limit, Saren withdrew his tongue and removed her legs from his carapace, motioning Jane to sit up. She complied before she turned over and rested on her stomach, her knees resting on the floor. Taking the hint, Saren climbed off the bed, knelt behind her and bent forward until his head was hovering close to hers.

"I wanted to do one last thing before the night ends," he hummed, leveling his tip.

Jane tilted her head to an angle which allowed her to give Saren a kiss.

"Do it, please," Jane begged.

"As you wish," he thrust himself in once more upon her demand.

Groaning, Jane pressed her head into the bed while Saren held her close, thrusting in a slow pace. He heavily panted as he continued to thrust. Getting a good angle that she seemed to enjoy best, he started thrusting harder, and at a much faster pace than before. Gently licking her neck in the process, he wrapped his arm around her and located her clit before he rubbed at it.

"Aaaaaaah…Shepard…" he moaned in her ear as he continued to thrust.

Jane cupped Saren's face with one hand and leaned her face closer to him, heat pooling in her stomach. He responded by placing a hand on her shoulder to thrust a little harder. He readily felt himself edging close to his climax. Seconds later, Jane arched her back as she shuddered in her climax and called out Saren's name. Feeling his climax follow shortly after, he stood up to pull himself out.

While Jane slowly climbed onto the bed, Saren grabbed the container of dextro allergy meds and stepped into the bathroom to retrieve a glass of water. Returning to the bedside, he handed the glass and meds to Jane before climbing into bed himself. She wasted no time as she washed down a tablet of the allergy meds as directed from the instructions on the container before she set the container and the glass on the night stand. Saren cupped his hand on her face.

"I…suppose it was worth moving you off Earth in the first place," he uttered.

Jane didn't respond, but she nestled closer to Saren and embraced herself to him. Soon after, both dozed off to sleep, each in each other's arms.

* * *

The following morning, Saren opened his eyes, still seeing Jane right beside him in his bed. Putting his legs over the side of the mattress, he glanced out the window into the morning light. The night before was a good one, finally being able to express his full emotions to Jane without interruption or fear of rejection. It may have been wrong for the members of species who were mortal enemies to the other to drop hostilities and go so far as to pursue romance, but it just felt so right. Considering the circumstances, Saren considered holding off going public with his newfound romance until later, so with Jane still asleep, he slipped into a casual outfit.

Walking into the kitchen, Saren prepared himself some kava while he looked over Jane's GED. Continuing to smile, he pulled out his omni-tool and looked at the calendar to begin scheduling the first mission. All the while, he reminded himself to ask Jane when would be a good time to meet up with her grandparents as well as schedule a meeting with officials from the Systems Alliance. Setting up the times, the two would be meeting with the Alliance officials over the course of the next few days, and arranged to be meeting with her grandparents over the course of the next couple weeks afterwards at least. He hadn't established any missions directly afterwards as a result.

A short while later, Jane emerged from Saren's bedroom in her nightgown and ambled down the stairs, making her way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Jane. I hope last night was enjoyable for you," he hummed.

Jane smiled at Saren and nodded before she began searching the pantry for ingredients for her breakfast.

"With your education finally out of the way, I figured we'd take some leisure time finishing some other work and perhaps finding some closure before we move on to your training," Saren informed.

Jane turned her gaze onto Saren once she brought the ingredients to the counter.

"So what do you have in mind?" Jane asked.

"I figured we may as well fully investigate what the Alliance wants with you," Saren started, "also, I'd think now would be the time we visit your grandparents, show them how far you've gotten, and maybe figure out how to keep in touch."

"I'd like that," Jane nodded before she started preparing her breakfast.

"I've got their address, colony name, and system location," Saren added, "I'm not sure if you'll like them, but it'd be nice to find where your family is."

It may have been a short while, but Jane soon finished preparing her breakfast, so she stepped over to the table and started eating.

"Also, our schedule is relatively open for the time being. Is there anything else you'd like to pursue during these next few weeks before we begin?"

With Saren and Jane sitting at the table side by side, she turned on her omni-tool and started looking up potential activities they could do during the day. The two continued to discuss the increasingly flexible Spectre schedule. Due to the violent and dangerous nature of a Spectre's career, they were generally allowed to take breaks whenever necessary and as long as they'd have to. This open schedule would give her enough time to adjust to the day she would begin her training.


	12. Shepard's New Aspirations

Saren hadn't worn one of his better suits in a while, but felt it was necessary for the occasion.

Few days have passed since Jane's graduation and they're both eager to go through with meeting with officials from the Alliance. While Jane anticipated they would expect her to appear professional, she also made sure her outfit was also practical.

"Did they tell you what they wanted in particular?" Saren asked.

Jane just finished slipping on a pair of penny loafers.

"They didn't really tell me what I should wear, to be honest," Jane admitted.

"That's not…" Saren started, "never mind. How do I look?"

Jane took a moment to examine Saren as he stood before her. She couldn't help but smile at him.

"I'll take the look as 'sufficient'. Now, shall we?"

The Alliance detachment present on the Citadel largely resided within the human-owned district, policing the area. Jane and Saren left their apartment and quickly rode a taxi to the district administration office within the sector. It may have been a short while, but they soon arrived at the entrance to the building. They disembarked the skycar and made their way inside the office. Quickly being directed into the offices, they entered a small office where a few well dressed personnel were already waiting for them. An officer with dark skin tones and graying hair rose to greet them.

"Spectre Arterius," he said, "you probably don't remember me, but I'm Captain Anderson."

"David? Of course I remember you," Saren replied, his snarky tone apparent in his subvocals, "by your rank, I assume you've been making your way up in this galaxy?"

Anderson nodded at Saren while they gave each other stink eyes in a moment of silence. Moments later, they reluctantly shook hands.

"Gentlemen, please. We can get past this if we come to an agreement that bit of history is simply regarded as a mistake on both sides," an elder officer with gray hair and short beard pinched the bridge of his nose with annoyance, "anyways, I'm Admiral Hackett of the Alliance Navy. This is Ambassador Udina of the Human Embassy here on the Citadel, and you've already met David Anderson. We were hoping we could discuss the terms of Ms. Shepard's upbringing as a Spectre."

Jane nodded and extended her hand.

"Pleased to meet you, sirs," Jane greeted.

Udina furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head away without saying anything. Taking lead on the discussion, the admiral was the first to speak after introductions.

"As you no doubt well know, Arterius," Anderson explained, "the Alliance has been the most held-back in terms of technological progression and galactic expansions. I know you are well spoken against human expansionism, and we can understand where the likes of these fears stem from. However, I'd like to propose that we as an Alliance can still show her some support."

Saren raised a brow.

"I don't exactly follow. What are you trying to achieve?"

"Your opinion on humans is one example," Captain Anderson explained, "humans don't exactly bear a high public opinion in the present, and we'd like to change that. Having a human Spectre could help with the public image that we want to contribute to intergalactic society as to better find our place within the community."

Saren folded his arms while he thought over Anderson's feedback for a moment.

"You're right when you say I disagree with the idea of human expansionism," Saren stated, "however, I can understand what you hope to achieve in the long run in context with what is happening on your homeworld of Earth. Do what you feel is necessary. Just be aware that some won't change their views as rapidly as others."

Anderson nodded to Saren while Udina groaned in irritation.

"I still don't think the likes of her would be suitable for such high honor," Udina objected in what Saren thought to be the most obnoxious accent he'd ever heard from the range of sounds a set of human vocal cords were capable of producing, "especially one of _**her**_ background."

Saren was clearly annoyed by the ambassador. Whatever trouble Jane may give him as a mentor, he'd still have the pleasure of annoying Udina for all it was worth.

"It appears you just don't want a human Spectre badly enough, ambassador," Saren made a sarcastic comment, "perhaps you could mention a more _**capable**_ candidate?"

"W-well, what about Lieutenant Alenko?" Udina stumbled, glancing at Anderson, "Earthborn and a proven soldier, is he not?"

"He's sharp, but young," the captain reminded, "and with that L2 implant of his, he's just not ready for such a role, ambassador. Give him several more years before he'd be ready."

Udina shook his head in disbelief.

"Fine, she'll do. I just hope you don't flaunt her profile so openly, Arterius," Udina spat.

"In case you were unaware, Spectre profiles are classified. No one will know a fucking difference," Saren fired back.

Anderson shook his head as he pressed his forehead against his palm.

"Are you are done squabbling with Arterius, Ambassador?" Hackett reminded, "arguing aside, we are aware of your position on the Systems Alliance from your friends Jeff Moreau and Kelly Chambers, which is why we wanted to offer indirect support, whether it be resources, finances, or intelligence. Your success is valuable to us."

"I appreciate your offer, Admiral Hackett," Jane smiled.

"I take it we agree upon this?" Anderson asked.

"If it means showing signs of friendliness, we do," Saren nodded.

With that, Anderson and Shepard shook hands. With further confirmation upon agreed terms, Jane and Saren left satisfied about the meeting.

"That went better than I had expected," Saren admitted as they left the administration building.

"I can agree with you on that," Jane replied.

"Excuse me if I seemed particularly rude towards the ambassador or the captain," Saren blurted.

Once they hailed a taxi and climbed aboard, Jane placed her hand on Saren's in an attempt to reassure him.

"It's history I'd like to save for later," Jane said.

Saren flicked his mandibles, his soft smile becoming apparent.

* * *

A few days had passed since their brief discussion with Hackett, Anderson, and Udina. The two were back at the gun range with the Spectre-designated weapons Saren had gotten for Jane.

"Remember, unless you can manage the recoil, reserve your firing to taps and bursts," Saren instructed.

"Understood," Jane nodded.

She leaned in and kept her grip firm around the rifle as she continued to resist the kick of the automatic fire. Saren had since stopped holding her hands, allowing her to learn to counter the recoil on her own. The results shown she was increasingly learning to use her weapon more efficiently. This was especially went she took out several targets in a couple split seconds. He smiled as she continued to successfully hit her mark. He gave her time to practice on a few more targets before having her switch out for the shotgun.

"Now, general rule about how to hold a weapon applies similarly to a shotgun. However, shotguns have greater stopping power at close range and have a greater kick per shot. Due to the nature of shotgun pellets, the rate at which they spread and lose energy over range makes them useless against far away targets."

"Understood," Jane replied.

"Now, nice and easy. You don't want to break your collarbone," Saren helped to position her body before giving her the go-ahead to start firing.

Jane wasted no time as she squeezed the trigger, firing a round at one of the targets. She did stumble lightly, but Saren was there to make sure she didn't fall onto her back. After she nodded at him in appreciation, she positioned her stance with the intent to shield herself from recoil before she aimed her shotgun at another target. More prepared this time, she was able to withstand the recoil, even if it did take her some time to properly line up the shot again. When she did fire another round at another target, she didn't stumble as much.

"The kick is nasty, but it's admittedly fun to use," she chuckled.

Chuckling, Saren nodded in agreement. The two continued practice for another fifteen minutes before packing their gear and heading back to the apartment.

* * *

A couple days later, Saren had contacted and arranged a visit to her grandparents, informing them he wanted them to visit a special 'someone'.

 _{A…special someone?}_ a male voice paused over the com-link.

"I'm not sure if you'll want to see her, but I figured it's for your best interest," Saren replied.

 _{Well, could you tell us more about her?}_ a grandmotherly voice requested over the com-link.

"I figured that this would be a surprise for both parties. Anyways, I must go. We'll arrive in several hours," Saren replied hastily.

With that, Saren hung up before he started thinking whether he and Jane should pack some outfits for the visit.

"Did your mother ever tell you about her parents?" Saren asked as he carefully lay various articles of clothing into his piece of luggage.

"Not much," Jane shook her head while she folded her select articles of garments.

Saren closed his case before putting it on the ground while Jane stashed her clothes into her duffle bag.

"I guess we'll find out more when we get there," Saren replied.

By the time Jane finished packing her essentials and her garments in her duffle bag, she lifted its strap over her shoulder before she followed her mentor to the front door.

Opting to travel using civilian transportation, Saren and Jane had booked a ride to Eden Prime where her grandparents lived. Choosing an isolated yet safe location, Eden Prime was an agricultural and shipping colony. Travel between the Citadel and human colonies was relatively light, so the transport they entered was small, and for the most part empty save for a few over a dozen humans on board. It reminded Jane of one of the buses back at Jackson that she would occasionally sneak onto to get a ride across the city.

Four hours later, they had touched down on Eden Prime in the small, well kept spaceport. Making their way out of the somewhat disorganized shipping area, they found themselves at a road that snaked through the city of small prefabs. Over the hills were plenty of crops both native and from Earth. The locals mostly ignored Saren, but there were a few who would give the Spectre an uncomfortable glance every now and then. Jane scanned the area around her, mesmerized by the landscape.

"The colony isn't that big, so your grandparents should be within walking distance," Saren said, reading a colony map.

The two began their walk down the road. For the duration of their trek, Jane would occasionally make a glance at some of the remarkable buildings they passed by. The prefabs themselves almost grew a life of their own as bits and pieces were torn off, replaced, or modified to better suit the needs and culture of the locals. With help from the provided coordinates, Saren and Jane navigated along the road closer to their destination.

The address led them nine minutes down the road before they had arrived. Out of all the present prefabs, it was the building that was the most untouched. The paint color had slightly faded due to UV exposure, but the building was clean and functional otherwise. Jane took a few steps closer to the front door and pressed her finger against the doorbell. Shortly after, an elderly man with no facial hair and a woman with strands of red through her silver hair exited to greet them.

"Saren Arterius?" the man asked.

"Yes sir. Just to be sure, you are the parents of Hannah Shepard, correct?" Saren returned.

The elderly couple nodded in unison.

"Good. I'd like to introduce you to your granddaughter, Jane Shepard," Saren announced, gesturing to Jane.

The instant they laid their eyes on Jane, the elderly couple stared in disbelief. Jane couldn't help but look back. She didn't know what to say. Should she embrace them? Should she simply act like this was any other first-time introductions? She stepped forward.

"Hello…it's a pleasure to meet you…" Jane greeted.

Jane extended her hand, compelling her grandfather to shake it.

"She died when I was about eight," Jane described, "I don't know how, but I assume that she was beaten to death. I just ran away after that, and I lived on the streets for the next eleven years. It was just a game of constant survival with no hope of ever getting off the planet, building myself up, and no one I could turn to."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," her grandfather replied, "why don't you two come in and we can talk about this further?"

Jane and Saren followed the elderly couple into the house and sat down in the living room.

"I was on my own for eleven years. It was mid-December in Mississippi when Saren found me. He administered me to a hospital on the Citadel and found me a good academy to attend and I just finished my degree," Jane explained.

To further prove her point, Jane pulled out her GED and presented it to her grandparents.

"I…we don't know…thank you, Arterius. We know Hannah was too far gone, but we're grateful that you could help her," Jane's grandmother said, trembling as she held the GED.

"Thank you, ma'am," Saren smiled.

"I'm sure you don't know of anything that happened to her after her…disappearance, but do you know if she was married to anyone?" Jane asked.

"She wasn't married," Jane's grandfather admitted, "we didn't get the chance to see her graduate high school."

"So it could've been anyone by now?" Saren reiterated.

"Probably," Jane's grandmother nodded.

Saren took a moment to open up Jane's profile in his omni-tool and read into her parental heritage. He reminded himself to scope out potential locations of her father later.

A couple hours later, the four had sat down for dinner. Saren accepted the offer due to his lack of levo allergies, and hence didn't necessarily need dextro rations. The elderly couple provided options for drinks such as tea, fruit juice and ice water.

"We worked as technicians for the early colonization stages when we had Hannah," her grandfather explained. "we just did ship repairs, equipment maintenance, and prefab setups."

"I mostly sat out when I had your mother," her grandmother added.

Jane raised her eyebrow after she took a bite out of her serving of mashed potato.

"Vehicles, huh? I have a friend who has a knack for ships from my days at the academy back at the Citadel."

"Fascinating," Jane's grandfather mused.

"He's enlisted with the Alliance as a pilot. Not sure how that'll end up, but he seemed very passionate about it," Saren added.

Saren took a sip of his ice water.

"That's always nice to see, kids being so enthusiastic going in," her grandmother hummed.

Saren put down his glass.

"Also, I was thinking of taking Jane in as my protege as a Spectre candidate," Saren added, "I'm not sure how you'll make of her with such a role, but I think she'll do well."

The elderly couple blinked twice and exchanged glances.

"Oh, so she's going to be the first human Spectre?" the elderly man clarified.

"Yes, she is. She's proven herself to be very capable, attentive, good on her feet, flexible, and dedicated," Saren answered. "she'll go far under my watch."

Jane exchanged soft smiles with both of her grandparents in the midst of the conversation.

"I hope she does. The galaxy is a cruel place," her grandfather grumbled, "someone has to fight back."

Saren took a bite of his meal.

"That's our job, sir. That's what Spectres are for."

After dinner, the two took the time to show Jane and Saren around the house, showing the family photos and various antiques from the initial human expansion years. Amidst the tour, Jane took a chance to examine the photos of her mother decorated throughout the house.

"She was bright and cheerful as a child. She wanted to be an artist or archaeologist when she grew up," her grandmother hummed reminiscently.

Jane nodded while she glanced at another photo of her mother. She stood smiling in a small dress in front of a small school within the colony. The young Spectre candidate couldn't help but wonder if her mother's friends were also affected since her disappearance.

"We were worried when she didn't come back one day. We were scared when we heard similar missing reports from around the colony," the grandfather continued, "she was a sophomore in high school when she vanished."

Jane and Saren exchanged glances, not needing to say anything to remind one another of the trafficking rings they raided.

"We did what we could to stop them. Jane and I went to Earth to clear out the brothel Hannah was taken to before following another one to another colony. We gave what we found to the Alliance shortly afterward," Saren told the two.

Jane's grandfather calmly placed his hand on Saren's shoulder.

"And we appreciate it, Spectre," he said.

Saren hummed a bit.

"I do apologize that I haven't asked earlier, but what are your names again?" Saren asked, "I have a harder time remembering human names."

"It's Fred and Alice Shepard."

"Thank you," Saren replied.

* * *

A few days had passed, and Jane took her time to better know her grandparents. This included the elderly couple inviting Jane and Saren to their high school reunion. The two gladly accepted the offer to attend as guests. It didn't take much longer than taking a bus ride to the community center. The group saw a great variety of other elders from the same community.

"Didn't think this many from the same school would stay on the same planet," Saren commented.

"With how many planets exit, I'd agree," her grandfather added, "but, we all decided to stay to one group, or try our best to, anyways."

With that, Jane's grandparents led her and Saren towards the entrance to the building. The group entered a small room, which was one of the more refined looking parts of the modified prefabs. The carpets, trim around the walls, and replaced panels suggested significantly more time and resources were put into making the room look good. There was even a display of various board games available for all the guests. The elders mostly took the time to talk with each other, gossiping and the like. Meanwhile, there were a few other younger individuals present, most likely younger relatives to the elders present. They generally looked a bit older than Jane herself was by a couple years at most. While Jane examined the food they provided at a buffet table, she bumped into another woman only a couple years older than her, startling both of them as they jumped back from one another.

"S-Sorry!" Jane blurted.

"It's alright. No harm done. You from around here? I just got here for my grandmother on my mother's side," the stranger replied nervously.

"I was…born on Earth, actually," Jane clarified.

"Oh, okay…" she replied nervously, "well, we got off to a bad start. My name is Ashley, Ashley Williams, but most people call me Ashe."

Ashley stuck out a hand in greeting. Jane took the hint and shook her hand.

"Jane Shepard," Jane smiled, "nice to meet you Ashe."

"Likewise. So who's the turian?" Ashley asked.

Jane tilted her head until she realized Ashley was referring to Saren.

"That's Spectre Arterius," Jane answered, "and he's…my mentor."

Ashley stared back with concern.

"I'm sorry, I just have a hard time trusting aliens. Mentor?" Ashley blurted.

"I'm following in his footsteps as a Spectre," Jane nodded while she grabbed a plate.

"Really? I don't envy you," Ashley chuckled, "not to imply anything, but…I dunno. I guess I just don't have anything that ambitious."

Jane began serving herself some food with Ashley following suit.

"I'm currently serving in the Alliance Marine Corps," Ashley continued, "perhaps it's just 'brand loyalty' if you will."

It didn't take much long before Jane and Ashley obtained the amount of food they were certain they needed before finding a place to sit.

"Yeah, I can understand any skepticism you might have towards Spectres," Jane replied, "they're basically the active hand of the Council, and they've got quite the reach."

"It's mostly family history, that's all," Ashley summed up, "I know the war is long over, but some habits just don't go away like others."

Jane nodded before she pulled up some photos within her omni-tool and showed them to Ashley. This could be the beginning of a new friendship of sorts while she and Ashe proceeded to play a board game after they finished their meal.


	13. Getting Into First Swing

By the time their stay came to an end, Jane and Saren packed their luggage before bidding farewell to Jane's grandparents before they made their way to the spaceport. Quickly getting their contact information, she promised to keep in touch before they left. Saren informed her they would head back to the Citadel to gather their equipment before going out on their first mission together. Once they arrived at the spaceport, they boarded a civilian transport.

"I'm glad we could find them," Saren said.

"Same here," Jane agreed.

Saren and Jane found their seats and tucked their luggage underneath their chairs.

"It's nice to have some family, even afar," Saren hummed, putting his luggage overhead.

It was only a while, but the transport soon took off from the spaceport. Saren leaned back into his seat and took a nap on the way back to the station. While the transport made its way to the Mass Relay, Jane staved off any boredom by turning on her puzzle game in her omni-tool.

Several hours later, Jane shook Saren awake when they arrived back at the Citadel. The turian Spectre shuddered as he snapped his eyes open.

"Right. Back home again. Say, do you need a break before we head out? We do have quite a bit to cover," Saren mumbled.

Jane checked the time in her omni-tool and double-checked the calendar. They had visited for two weeks, and Saren had left an open schedule ahead of them in case there was some unforeseen event that occurred that delayed them.

"What movies do you prefer?" Jane asked as she pulled her luggage out from underneath her seat.

"I do enjoy good humorous vids and the ones that try to have some fun. Self-satirical, if you understand," he answered, stretching his arms.

Jane and Saren disembarked the civilian transport and made their way out of the docks. After that, Jane browsed through the available movies in her omni-tool.

"It's been a while since I have watched a vid, so I wouldn't know what's on right now," he added, looking over her shoulder.

Jane scrolled to the website of a theater that showed old vids and took notice of one particular title Spaceballs.

"Heard of this one before?" Jane asked.

Saren raised a brow as he looked at the cover art.

"No," Saren admitted, "I really haven't divulged into much of human culture."

"I remember hearing an inmate mention it years ago," Jane replied.

"Did they say how good it was?" Saren asked.

Jane took a moment to recall the memory hidden inside her head.

"Well, they did mention it fit within the category of 'dumb humor'," Jane answered.

"We've still got a few days, I suppose," Saren shrugged, "if it is bad, we can always wash it down with something better."

Saren took a moment to examine the coordinates of the theater in question before he and Jane sauntered through the wards. Saren decided to look up the films on his own, scanning the lists of good human comedies.

"Hot Fuzz?" Saren pondered.

Jane took a moment to examine the title.

"I don't think I've heard of it before," Jane admitted.

"Comedy police film. Sounds interesting," Saren commented.

"I guess that's another option," Jane nodded.

An hour later, the two were at a small theater showing retro human vids. Jane very much enjoyed the film, though Saren found it more confusing than anything. Well, the references in the movie confused him above anything else.

"That was…interesting?" Saren muttered to himself, "I don't even know how to describe it."

By the time the vid ended, Saren and Jane stepped out of the theater, the turian Spectre noticing her content expression.

"I thought it was hilarious," Jane commented, "of course, I can understand some of the references. No offense."

"None taken. We've still have the rest of the day to ourselves. You up for another vid?" Saren asked.

Saren gave Jane a chance to look through his list of vids he took interest in, taking her time to decide which one would also interest her. The Spectre thought long and hard, before a sudden idea dawned upon him.

"Say, what genre would you say Spectre work would fit under?" Saren pondered.

"I guess I could fit it along the lines of action, sci-fi, or spy thriller," Jane assumed, placing her finger on her chin.

"Spy thriller? What'd you recommend?" Saren insisted.

Jane tapped into the spy thriller genre and scrolled through the list in her omni-tool. Half an hour later, they found a listing for a James Bond flick and watched it. It was strange seeing what Blasto would've looked like had it only starred one species and one planet. Still, he very much enjoyed the vid from start to end. Yet, the way Saren saw James Bond use methods to win women over in uncomfortable manners kinda rubbed him the wrong way. It seemed unrealistically easy, almost in a way where the woman simply told the titular protagonist, 'Hey! Our planet is on the verge of political/environmental crisis, but let's fuck!'. He would have to remind himself to see if there were spy thrillers just as competent as the flick they were currently watching later.

"A strange, yet fun experience. 'Spy flicks', you called them?" Saren hummed.

"Yeah," Jane nodded.

Saren's mandibles flexed into a grin while he placed his hand on Shepard's shoulder. They both scrolled through the list of recipes on their omni-tools, as it was almost dark. Maybe they should head back home soon.

* * *

Before long, their brief break came to an end.

Jane looked over her assault rifle, checking it as Saren had taught her. The two were on Saren's personal shuttle on the way to their first set of missions together. She felt a sense of determination to ensure her weapons were properly maintained along the way.

"We'll be arriving in fifteen minutes. Ready?" Saren asked as he walked up to her.

"Yes," Jane nodded just as she finished tuning her assault rifle.

The two were heading into the Artemis Tau Cluster for a small, safe, yet testing first mission for Jane. They were heading for a small pirate camp that traded illegal tech. The instant the shuttle entered the cluster, they traveled to the planet in question. Sharjila was a plain, rocky planet with no outstanding fauna or flora, and was deep within the Attican region. As they entered low orbit, Saren took their ship off of autopilot and took control of the vessel. Swooping down low, he took to the mountain ranges around the base to keep them out of visual range and radar detection. Once they landed, the turian Spectre killed the ignition and gathered his weapons, compelling Jane to follow suit.

"Don't forget to seal your suit. The atmosphere here isn't exactly hospitable," Saren reminded as he put on his own helmet.

Jane pulled out her helmet from a display and placed it over her head, ensuring to lock it into place. The two hastily exited the airlock into the surprisingly windy atmosphere outside.

"The pirate warehouse is just over the hill," Saren instructed, "follow close, and remember to keep a low profile."

Saren and Jane quickly climbed over a hill to get a good view of their target. It was a large prefab, otherwise designated to mobile labs or medical facilities for colonists. Saren led Jane through a boulder maze after they descended the hill, creeping closer to the prefab while scanning for any patrolling guards. The area nearby had some sniper towers, but plenty of rocks on the way down to keep themselves out of sight. Saren and Jane took cover by a rock as they saw a couple of patrolling pirates walk by.

"I'll start with those guard towers," Saren instructed, "cover me while I take them out. Got it?"

"Copy that," Jane nodded.

Saren raised his rifle, and shot a few well placed rounds into the helmet of the guard, causing them to topple over while attempting to seal the breach in their suit. Jane quickly popped up from behind cover as a few guards approached to investigate. Her practice at the firing range had clearly paid for itself as she easily took down both with minimal wasted ammunition.

"Excellent shot, Shepard," Saren chuckled softly.

Hostile gunfire began to increase, prompting Saren to cover both in a biotic barrier. Finishing off the other two tower guards with relative speed, Saren turned his attention to the other pirates who now began to fire back. Spotting a heavy trooper, he advanced out into the open to intercept. The pirate fired off his rocket launcher before Saren flung the explosive back with his biotics. Jane followed closely behind, providing cover fire for him. With the extra fire taking out any stray pirates, Saren charged at the heavy trooper. Ramming a blade into his opponent's faceplate, Saren drew the blade out and let the air hiss out of the heavy trooper's helmet before picking up their weapon and firing at another half-dozen pirates as they exited the warehouse to investigate the source of the commotion. Before long, both Saren and his protege managed to clear the path for entry. The two entered the front airlock and awaited the sanitation cycle to end. Saren pulled off his helmet and put it on a shelf.

"Careful," he told Jane, "they probably know we're here by now, meaning they'll be setting up inside if they're smart."

Jane nodded while she removed her helmet. Saren pulled two grenades of different types from his belt.

"You know what this is?" Saren asked.

Jane took a moment to examine the grenades in Saren's hands.

"This one is a concussion grenade, more commonly known as a flashbang. It'll leave you temporarily blinded if you look in its general direction, and it'll leave your ears ringing, but doesn't really do much to hurt you otherwise. The other one is an EMP grenade. It'll fry electronics temporarily or permanently until repaired depending on what type it is," he explained as he handed Jane the flash grenade, "like any other grenade, pull the pin and throw it. The grenade of course, not the pin."

"You got it, Saren," Jane acknowledged as she clipped the grenade onto her utility belt.

Walking through the front area, the two took cover by the door while Saren hacked the lock. Quickly cutting through, they were quickly met by returning fire from roughly eight pirates inside.

"This was what I was talking about earlier. Ready?" he asked, pulling out the EMP grenade.

Jane pulled out her concussion grenade in response. Both tossed their respective grenades in, waited for the following explosions, and ran in to the closest forms of cover, gunning down four pirates on the way in. When the smoke dissipated, Jane scanned the area to ensure the coast was clear. She narrowly ducked down after another hail of fire flew overhead. Jane and Saren quickly popped back out again to lay down counter-fire.

"Jane, I'll cover you. Get to that pile of crates to our right and try to flank them," Saren advised, slipping in another thermal clip into his rifle.

Jane nodded before she burst from cover and sprinted to her right with Saren following close behind her. Sliding into cover, she waited until Saren ceased firing to allow the pirates to leave cover. While they were distracted, she moved to another set of cover and fired as she proceeded to flank the guards. Catching them at two angles, Jane and Saren whittled down all but one more. The asari among the group put up a barrier and used her biotics to leap up to the catwalk above.

"Saren," Jane asked, "how do you deal with adversaries with biotics?"

He watched as the asari continued to retreat.

"Try to stick to corners, don't give them a chance to use their biotic attacks on you. Additionally, don't stand in areas where they could incapacitate you by throwing large objects at you."

"Right," Jane nodded.

They rushed up a set of stairs onto the second level to try and get at the last hostile present. Saren held his arm out to prevent Jane from advancing as a shockwave rippled through the entrance to the second level. Peeking through, the two pushed for another set of cover.

"She's really persistent," Jane whispered, "does she even have limits?"

"Try to keep in mind that biotics are physically taxing on the body. Unless you have a biotic amp that is capable of venting ridiculously fast, or are just physically capable of constantly using them, you have a minimum of seven and a half seconds and a maximum of twelve seconds to retaliate until a biotic is capable of using their powers again."

Jane nodded to Saren. The turian Spectre fired at the asari guard to take a bit off of her barriers before returning to cover. He continued to attempt to provoke her until she threw a lift. Quickly countering her attacking with a flash of his own biotics, the two quickly returned fire. Emerging from their cover, they began to advance on her, firing as they approached to keep her down until they could finish her off at close range. With their adversary out of the way, they could now continue on with their objective.

Entering the manager's office nearby, the two found an active terminal near the back of the room. Looking over the supplies, Saren hummed cheerfully as he looked at the results.

"Looks like they do have a shipment downstairs," Saren said, "we'll take it to the Citadel for further analysis. We'll head back to the shuttle so we can move it closer and start moving the illegal tech into our shuttle and copy files. Once we're done, I'll show you how to utilize the explosive charges Spectres have access to."

Jane nodded before she set off to download the files from the terminal. Hastily returning to the shuttle, they touched down at the warehouse and loaded a few crates onto the ship.

"We can look at the contents later after we scan them. For now, let me show you how to use these," he told her, pulling out what looked like an octagon-shaped metal disk with a small screen facing the front.

Jane plucked the disk from Saren's hand and examined it. Saren showed her how to use the device as a time bomb, a remote detonator, and a proximity mine before showing helping her step-by-step to set one on her own. With help from his instructions, Jane set the disk up as a remote detonator before she planted it on a pillar of the warehouse.

"Ok, it's set," Jane announced.

The two finished setting explosive charges around the building before hastily returning to the shuttle. Circling the facility overhead to do one last fly-by, they watched as the explosives ripped the place apart. Jane reclined into her seat while she sighed in relief.

"For your first mission," Saren complimented, "you have done well, Shepard."

Saren quickly set the autopilot before heading to the storage area. He quickly set to work scanning the reinforced crates' contents. While he did so, he read the details on his datapad. Luckily, the intel they raided the warehouse with was solid, and the devices they just stole were not mega-ton explosive devices that would reduce them to ashes. It was definitely Prothean tech, but he didn't want to touch them until they could get them back to the Citadel where they could have them better analyzed with professionals and proper equipment. Satisfied with his findings, he returned to the cockpit and sat back down in the pilot's seat.

* * *

Hours later, the shuttle arrived at the Citadel and Saren landed his shuttle in the Spectres' docking bay. With the help of four others, Jane and Saren had the crates lifted into the lab for analysis. Finishing up, Saren pulled out his omni-tool to quickly write a report on the mission and Jane's capability in the field. The lab quickly sent him a report on the Prothean devices inside, briefly describing their outward appearance. Focusing his eyes on Jane, Saren gestured her to stand from her seat in the lobby and approach him before he showed her the lab report.

"Those containers held components for a Prothean beacon. They contain data and directly interface with the user's nervous system opposed to providing a control panel," Saren explained, "more often than not, the beacons require a very resilient nervous system in order to interface without causing brain damage or worse."

Jane placed the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind so she could understand the issue better.

"Do you know anyone who can withstand these beacons?" Jane asked.

"They're essentially computer terminals," he answered simply.

"Like…an ancient computer?" Jane clarified, fluttering her hand sideways.

Saren glanced away and nodded.

"Yeah. However you say it."

Saren reviewed his report for a moment before he sent it to the Council. The two up and left the academy.

"Now, believe it or not, us Spectres are still organic individuals," Saren continued, "we're not super soldiers grown in labs. We're people, just like every other man, woman, and child alive. We'll take a day's rest before we move on to the next mission."

"Right," Jane smiled at Saren.

With no one else paying attention to them, Jane took Saren's hand into hers. For some reason, the turian Spectre couldn't help but blush at the sensation of her soft skin.

"Do you think this would ever be seen as normal? You and I together?" Saren asked as they walked on.

"I hope it will someday," Jane answered softly.

"I expect I'll get some backlash for my sudden change in political opinion, but…maybe I won't be socially ostracized or lynched by either turians or humans respectively. Maybe it'll just take another year or two."

Jane nodded while she and Saren meandered through the wards on their way to the Presidium. It was only a small mission, but there was enough to take up the rest of the month and Jane's training.

"So, we've got a day's rest. What'll it be?"


	14. Illium's Biotic Brawler

Saren woke up to find Jane still lying on top of him from the night before. Even when she was still asleep, he couldn't help but run his talons through her hair. Her eyes slowly flickered back open and she found herself looking back up at him.

"Good morning. I hope you don't mind if you have to move," Saren greeted.

Jane gave out a small chuckle.

"Right," she agreed, "just give me a moment."

Jane took a few seconds to roll off of Saren. He got out of bed and stepped out of the bedroom, making his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast while he read through his datapad over the next mission. Jane entered the kitchen minutes later.

"Next, we'll be heading to Illium. It wasn't part of my original schedule, but we've managed to catch the Council's eye. They want to see how you handle this," Saren explained.

"So how much time do we have before we leave?" Jane asked.

Jane set off to gather ingredients and prepare her own breakfast.

"An hour and a half," Saren answered, "it's pretty critical apparently."

It didn't take long for both of them to finish preparing their breakfast and they sat down at the kitchen table before they started eating.

"Did you ever hear of the Batarian Hegemony during your time working towards a GED?" Saren asked between bites.

"Not that I'm aware of," Jane answered, "why?"

"The batarians…are a bit of a strange bunch. Culturally, they've been living within a caste system, and slavery is heavily integral to its structure. They consider the Council's anti-slavery laws to be discriminatory and their culture in general puts a lot of emphasis on position, even to an extent to make our Hierarchy seem rather benign."

Jane couldn't help but cringe at Saren's explanation.

"And I thought my mother's brothel was a literal shithole," Jane commented, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It could've been worse. I've seen a few cases where slaves were beaten for disrespecting their owners or failing to perform their jobs," he shrugged.

It was only a little while before Jane and Saren finished their breakfast, so they rinsed the dishes and then left the kitchen.

* * *

Arriving at the docks in short order, the two were fully suited and fully equipped for the next mission. Once they boarded the shuttle, Saren started up the engines.

"Intel suggests that a group of batarian pirates are trying to set off chemical weapons in highly populated areas," Saren explained, "Illium may be in the Terminus Systems, but it's still part of the Asari Republics."

"Does that count as a massacre?" Jane pondered.

"Yes. The batarians have been relatively hostile towards other governments over the years since their first contact with the Council, and have been teetering on the edge of pushing one of the other races to war," he answered as the ship left the docking mechanism.

Jane watched as the scenery passed by while the shuttle left the Citadel.

"Can't imagine whether batarians or humans are worse," Jane replied.

"Last time I checked," Saren reminded, "the Alliance at least didn't raid small settlements and facilities for other sentient beings to make slaves out of."

Jane nodded while she scratched her head.

A few hours had passed when the two had landed on the pristine planet. The space port they landed at was clean, well designed, and wealthy. The metropolis far below was sprawling with people, asari roughly making up half of the populace.

"Make no mistake, this place is as bad, if not worse than Omega," Saren explained, "the criminals here may not actively be trying to stab or drug you, but they have plenty of other ways of hurting you."

Jane stiffened, yet she kept up with Saren as they made their way out of the docks. Saren quickly handed in his ID to pay the docking fees before they continued.

"Right now," Saren continued, "our intel is still mostly a hunch as to where the batarian attackers will be planting. We just have to play this by ear, keep our eyes open."

"And let's hope they don't see us coming," Jane remarked.

The two wandered the markets looking for signs of activity from their targets. For half an hour, they searched hopelessly for at least a batarian in hopes they could get a lead. Jane's head spun as she tried grinding away at how they could find their way before whatever the batarians hoped to do blew up in their faces. Her eyes scanned back and forth across the numerous faces in the crowd for something to go off of until she spotted a krogan with maroon plates and red armor loitering by the mouth of a small back alley. Getting an idea, she calmly walked up to the krogan.

"Excuse me," Jane asked, "I was supposed to meet someone, but I can't find them in the crowd. Have you seen a group of batarians by any chance?"

Grumbling, the krogan narrowed his eyes at Jane.

"What does it matter to you, kid?" he demanded.

"Purchasing wares. Why else?" Jane repeated.

Saren kept his distance as to keep out of the krogan's olfactory sense range, yet armed in case the krogan decided to attack.

"You need to work on your ability to lie," the krogan insisted, "who sent you after them?"

"The need for a safer, more secure public," Saren answered, stepping into the open.

"Small galaxy. Name's Urdnot Wrex. I'm not here for anyone in particular, but my partner wanted some payback. She's in back getting some answers. It's certainly more effective than walking in circles," the krogan greeted.

Jane tilted her head to the side.

"You have a partner?" she paused.

Wrex made a head gesture into the alleyway behind him.

"She's interrogating one of your 'friends' that you were supposed to meet."

Looking down the alleyway, around a corner, she could lightly hear some screams and yells, drowned out by the common sounds of the public behind them.

"Who's she?" Saren asked.

"You don't want to know."

Almost driving Wrex's point, a blue glow began to grow from the alleyway followed by a sharp male scream and a spray of blood. Saren and Jane couldn't help but exchange glances amidst the small confusion. A bald, petite woman roughly Jane's height exited the dark alley.

"I've got the place," she announced.

She had tattoos all across her body, wore little more than boots and overalls that had enough straps to leave plenty to the imagination, and her right fist was covered in red paste.

"So, who are these two?" the woman asked, eyeing the Spectre and his student.

"Pfft," Wrex chuckled, folding his arms, "they're probably bounty hunters after the same target like us."

The thin girl simply stared.

"If you want to trust them, fine. That's your poison," she replied as she pulled out her omni-tool, showing the map, "still, he finally gave in and talked."

Wrex and the girl decorated with tattoos ventured forth, compelling Saren and Jane to follow.

"And for the record," Saren reminded, gesturing to himself and Jane, "I'm Spectre Arterius and this is my apprentice."

"Saren? Yeah…I know you. You're the asshole on TV. But I'm not complaining," Wrex hummed, "her name's Jack. We're here because she's got some beef with this group of batarians."

Saren flexed his mandibles into a grin, his subvocals letting out a soft chortle.

"What's her story?" he asked.

They all paused in their tracks for a moment while Jack stared at Saren.

"You'll know after we take out the four-eyed shitheads," Jack offered.

"Charming. What was your plan?" Saren asked.

"Go in and shoot everything. Try not to get gassed ourselves," Wrex answered.

Saren, Jane, Wrex and Jack continued their trek towards their destination. The group headed for a skycar that Jack had stolen during their time on Illium.

"Get in," Jack ordered.

Saren and Jane hopped into the skycar while Jack took the driver's seat.

"So, you're training her?" Wrex asked as he slid into the skycar.

"Yes," Saren nodded.

Once the skycar doors closed, Jack turned on the ignition and took control of the steering wheel.

"Can she at least shoot?" Jack inquired, steering the car out of parking.

"I've gotten the hang of firearms by now," Jane remarked.

"If she's being trained by Saren, she better be good," Wrex unfolded his shotgun and loaded incendiary rounds.

Jane peered through the window while Jack steered the skycar through the air traffic.

"I know what I'm doing," Jane added, "if that's what you're asking."

"Hey, so long as you aren't some bitch-princess who loses their shit over getting their hands dirty, that's fine," Jack sighed as she continued to weave through traffic.

A while later, they soon reached their destination. The group quickly veered off of the highway and down towards the ground. Flying through the cracks of the upper city, they entered the lower parts of the city, away from the prying eyes on the surface. It wasn't nearly as prestigious as the surface area, but it was still kept very clean, with no sign of impoverished, litter, or crime within visible range. While Saren and Jane double-checked their weapons, Jack steered the skycar closer to the ground in search for a place to land. Jack unbuckled herself after she turned off the ignition.

"I know where to go to head to where they're setting up," she told them, "they'll be planting the device that fucker we caught in the alleyways mentioned near the east wing of the facility."

Jack, Saren, Jane and Wrex disembarked the skycar.

"I'll bet they aren't waiting for us forever," Jane proclaimed.

The group began their trek on foot through the lower city, in and out of metal corridor after metal corridor. The group continued to follow Jack until she held up a hand for them to stop.

"There. The facility up ahead," Jack informed.

The building was enormous, but rather plain from the outside. A long fence wrapped around the outside, denying access to non-employees. Saren took his time to examine the fence, figuring out a way to get around the obstacle.

"We don't have much time. We should keep moving," he grumbled as he extended a holographic dagger from his suit knuckles, cutting a hole in the fence before entering to sweep.

"Oh, and the pig-headed fuck in the deep blue armor is mine," Jack reminded as she followed closely behind, with a shotgun in one hand and a ball of biotic energy in the other.

Once inside, they watched as a gang of batarians were arming canisters of the chemical weapon Saren mentioned.

"We're on time. Let's go," Wrex gestured to another door out of view of the batarians.

Having Saren sabotage the lock on the door, the group slowly crept in, keeping their senses tuned for the batarian attackers. With many of the batarians focused on their plan and the group's vigilance, the targets were oblivious to the intruders.

"Looks like there are roughly four dozen guys total," Jane informed Saren, "four are heavy troopers, six are biotics, and there's a single sniper."

Saren hummed as he contemplated the situation.

"Alright, let's start move quietly and start with the sniper before working our way ar-."

The two jumped at the sound of Wrex firing a grenade launcher indiscriminately at the squad of Batarians while Jack started tossing shockwaves down the hallways.

"Great," Saren grumbled.

"Well, now what?" Jane asked.

"Disable the bombs, keep them from detonating. The others will keep any opposition away from us," he ordered.

With that, Jane and Saren snaked as close as they could to the bombs the batarians left unprotected.

"I'll have to teach you how to defuse a bomb at some point. I'll show you quickly before someone notices us," Saren mumbled, picking the explosives off the barrels.

Jane kept a vigilant eye while Saren began demonstrating the technique he mentioned. It was a relatively simply device, but he gave her a detailed enough tutorial on how to dismantle the trigger mechanism. The two got to work dismantling the other explosives around the room. All the while, Jack and Wrex kept sharp eyes on their batarian opponents. The batarians attempted to flee, only to be dragged back into the angry storm of biotic power, shotgun blasts, and hard knuckles.

"Don't think you can get away so easily, you four-eyed dipshits!" Jack yelled in between throwing biotic warps.

She latched onto the ankles of a batarian rushing to cover and yanked him close, allowing Wrex to lift his foot up and crush his skull into a fine, red paste.

"Nice one, Wrex!" Jack cheered, raising her fist into the air.

One of the remaining heavy troopers attempted to rush the krogan before Wrex simply caught the opponent's fist, grabbed the batarian's other wrist, put a boot on their chest, and yanked with all his might before tearing both arms clean off. By then, Saren and Jane were halfway finished with their task.

"You're doing very nicely, Jane," Saren hummed as he tossed aside another device uselessly.

"Thanks," Jane replied before she set off to defuse the next bomb.

The two were almost finished given the luxurious amount of alleviated pressure Wrex and Jack presented them.

"Think they won't need our help?" Jane asked.

Saren temporarily looked up down the corridor near the other side of the room to where distant screams, gunshots, and biotic explosions continued to ring from.

"Given how old Wrex is and how young and energetic…his acquaintance is," Saren answered, "I'm sure they're holding."

Jane picked up the last bomb before she set off to defuse it.

Not five minutes in to the counterattack, the batarians that were left were on the run from the rampant biotics. A significantly smaller group from the number they had started with rushed around the corner, avoiding the gunshots from behind them. One took a blast to his back, piercing his barriers and grazing his shoulder, causing him to stumble. Having dropped his weapon, he spun around to punch Jack only to have his arm caught in a lock. Accelerated with her biotics, Jack thrust her hand clean through the center of the batarian's eyes and clean through the back of his head. Yanking her hand out with more rivulets of blood and gray matter, she let the body unceremoniously drop to the floor before continuing to pursue the others. Having disarmed all of the explosives, Jane and Saren caught up with Jack and Wrex.

"We've defused the bombs. What's the status on the batarian gang?" Saren informed.

"They're starting to make for the surface, but they've taken heavy casualties in the process," Wrex replied as he loaded a new thermal clip into his shotgun.

Jane took a moment to examine the corpses on the ground.

"So how many are there left?" Jane asked.

"Eight-ish. Lost count," Jack answered nonchalantly.

Jack led Wrex, Jane and Saren throughout the corridor, barreling after the fleeing batarian gangsters. Rushing through the front gates, the batarian soldiers continued to rush to the public districts several blocks over. Beginning to catch up, one of the batarians fired his weapon into the air, causing people to drop in fear and granting them a clear escape path. That didn't deter Jack from giving up her pursuit, though. Wrex yanked another batarian towards them with a pull allowing Jack to finish him off as he flew past them. Saren and Jane also sprinted after the few remaining batarians, trying to figure out a way to corner them. Saren quickly opened his omni-tool to search the nearby area.

"Jane, I have a plan," he instructed, "follow me, let Wrex and Jack continue their pursuit."

"Ok," Jane nodded, "let's hope it works."

They quickly jumped down a dim back alley and began to weave their way over and under the obstacles along the way. Saren kept his omni-tool out as they ran along to make sure they didn't lose their way. Jane was slow at first, but quickly picked up on how to quickly transverse such obstacles as Saren did. They both kept track of their targets' whereabouts as the plan began to formulate into fruition. Continuing to weave back and forth, the two suddenly saw the light at the end of the alley. Saren quickly put away his omni-tool and pulled a grenade from his belt and waited a few more paces before pulling the pin to cook it. Keeping an eye on his suit HUD, he watched as the batarians drew closer on the mini-map. Rounding the corner and jumping into cover, he tossed the grenade at the approaching group. The ensuing explosion caught the batarians off-guard as expected.

Jane and Saren continued their fight as Wrex and Jack boxed the batarians in from the other side. The former two picked off the batarians who attempted to run while the latter two got in close and personal. With the rounds of a shotgun and the splatter of innards from biotic fields, the four managed to score a worthy victory. Jack repeatedly bashed the head of a batarian in navy blue with her shotgun before she finally got onto her feet.

"Sick fuck," she muttered.

"So," Jane asked, "are we done here?"

Saren eyed what was left of the batarian leader's head. He didn't know much about them, so he head no idea what sort of beef Jack had with the criminal.

"Perhaps you could shed some light on this batarian?" Saren asked Jack.

"I don't want to talk about it."

She walked off as Wrex walked up to the Spectre.

"I found her a year ago. That bastard she just desecrated kept her as an attack dog to have in betting matches."

"You mean the gladiatorial matches in Omega?" Saren raised a browplate.

"Yeah. I was doing a favor for Aria at the time," the bounty hunter answered.

While Saren did nod at Wrex in acknowledgement, the mention of Omega's pirate queen gave him a sense of irritation.

"So I told you Jack's story, what's hers?" Wrex asked, gesturing to Jane.

Saren sighed while he and Jane sauntered out of the alleyway with Wrex walking alongside them.

"Found her on Earth, starving and ill. Anything else?" Saren answered.

By then, Saren, Jane and Wrex caught up with Jack.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Wrex asked, patting Jack on her back.

Smiling, Jack gave Wrex a fist bump. The group returned to the upper city to find a small bar to relax at. Some time later, they headed back to the docks where Saren's shuttle could be seen a few feet away. The two bid farewell the bounty hunter and his crazed sidekick before the boarded their shuttle. Saren still felt a mild buzz from one of the drinks he had at the bar. This led him to resort to setting the shuttle to autopilot for the time being.


	15. When Practice Makes Perfect

A few hours passed as they returned to the Citadel with Jane quickly washing off while Saren quickly compiled a report about their success. Sending both reports to the council and local authorities, he quickly got up and began to take apart his armor. After he set his armor aside, he changed into a casual outfit and stepped out of his office, making his way to the living room. Jane emerged from the shower in a casual outfit minutes later.

"So, are we calling it a day?" Jane asked.

Saren sighed as he sat down on the living room couch.

"Yeah, we're good for the day," Saren answered, "we might go over some combat training over the next few days. I apologize if you have to take in so much so quickly."

Jane sat down next to Saren, leaning closer to him.

"So, what does it entail?" she insisted in a calm tone.

"Combat movement," Saren answered, "maybe some finer details like basic hacking. We'll eventually get into detective work."

Jane closed her eyes.

"Now you're talking," she mused.

Saren smiled before he wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes.

* * *

The following day, Jane changed into a sporty outfit after she had her breakfast. Saren knew by now that she was capable of handling a weapon and learning how to use it. The next step would be to work on her mobility, ensuring she could move fluidly through a combat area or pursue a target if need be. Fortunately, the Spectre Academy had plenty of simulators to provide such training scenarios. The turian Spectre escorted his human apprentice out of their apartment and meandered through the Presidium until they arrived at the academy, making their way inside. The couple wove through the various training areas until they reached a large, dark room. Compared to the other rooms, this room had pitch black walls which were partially illuminated by a blue grid on each surface.

"Here we are. I had this reserved for us the day before. It's a holo-chamber, same tech used in the Aramax Arena," Saren hummed as he tapped a few keys on a console.

The floor, walls, and ceiling slid around before coming to a defined shape before each surface took on a printed texture with lighting, simulating dark, dank streets with a subtle red glow.

"This is Omega, or our representation of it," Saren explained, "your objective will change over a the different layouts of this map, and obstacles will change according to the user's capability. It's your first time here, so don't feel bad if things don't start off well."

"I understand, Saren," Jane nodded.

Jane started off with something easy, with a generous time limit and a highlighted path for her to take to reach the end of the course. When she finished the course, Saren couldn't help but grin in pride of his apprentice's progress.

"A good start. Most cadets usually don't get through that quickly."

"Thanks," Jane nodded, taking a few moments to rest before her next round.

She did a few more runs through the shifting course as Saren gradually added new variables to take into consideration. He began to throw in moving machinery, random passers-by, and random hazards to occasionally dodge. Of course, Jane had to think fast in order to outsmart these obstacles. Given the gradual build up to that point, she had no problem working her way from point A to point B and quickly. While Saren observed these trials, he kept track of the amount of time it took for each session.

"Well well, that's your best time yet," he hummed looking at the results.

"So how much more do I have left?" Jane took her time to catch her breath.

"Catch your breath for now. We'll be doing this over the next few days, so we have time to make any adjustments," he replied as he handed her a water bottle.

Nodding, Jane plucked the water bottle from her mentor's hand and took a sip of the refreshing water.

"However, for the first time through, you did very well. It's rather rare for recruits to do this well."

Having sipped the amount of water she needed, Jane sealed the bottle and handed it back to Saren.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"You've been at this for a couple hours now, and I was thinking of getting some lunch. Have any preferences?" Saren said, gathering their belongings after shutting off the simulation.

Jane and Saren stepped out of the room and meandered through the halls of the academy while she scrolled through the list of recommended restaurants in her omni-tool. They chose a small shop nearby to get some sandwiches from. Walking back outside, the two found a park nearby to eat in. While they ate, they took in the mesmerizing scenery surrounding them.

"Almost halfway through your training. Strange that time has passed so quickly," Saren sighed.

"Again, I appreciate your sentiment," Jane replied.

"So, what'd you want to do once you've been accepted?" Saren asked.

"If anything," Jane answered after taking a bite out of her sandwich, "I could go for tracking down abusive practices on innocent victims that the perpetrators tend to hide from the public."

Saren took a moment to swallow a bit of his sandwich.

"Get some closure once and for all?" Saren clarified.

Jane chuckled as she shook her head.

"I already had my closure," she corrected, "it feels right to ensure others wouldn't suffer as much as my mother did."

He nodded with approval.

"It's always nice to have something to still fight for," Saren mused.

By the time they finished their lunch, Saren and Jane relaxed on the bench and took in the wonderful scenery.

* * *

The following day, Jane and Saren returned to the Spectre Academy for another training session.

"Saren, I was thinking in having a little bit of a friendly competition. You interested?" Jane asked while smiling.

Saren couldn't help but raise a browplate in interest.

"May I ask what kind of competition?" he proclaimed.

"The simulator can project enemies as well, right? I was thinking of seeing who could get through a room with as many kills possible," she proposed.

Folding his arms, Saren thought over the suggestion for a moment before he let out an amused chuckle.

"I'll accept," Saren grinned, "I'd like to see how far you've come anyways."

With that, Saren and Jane made their way through the halls of the academy and found an available simulator.

"I'll be arranging this arena with as much as I can. Think you can handle it?" Saren asked as he set the map to form.

"I've handled anything you brought me into and endured," Jane nodded, "I'm sure I can handle this one."

"All right. Let's do this."

Both stepped into the chamber and positioned themselves accordingly for when the simulation would properly start. The signal dropped as they stepped into the arena and began firing at a squad of projected mercenaries. As the session progressed, Jane felt a burst of confidence as she was able to apply all she learned into strafing and firing a round at any holographic mercenary she could get her hands on. Saren initially planned on going easy on her, but found himself matched by Jane as he was now struggling to keep up the pace with her. Even if he stopped considering going easy on her, he still considered playing fair.

"How many are you at?" Saren yelled over the gunfire.

Jane took out another holographic projection.

"Around seventeen!" she called back.

He pretended to be focused on shooting at the projections, ignoring the fact he was still at fifteen. His competitive side convinced him to step up his game. He ducked into the next set of cover and fired at another group of approaching hostile projections. Jane climbed up an available platform with a sturdy cover that gave her an oversight on her holographic opponents. She was beginning to make a significant leap from her surprising lead. Unfortunately, Saren was increasingly unable to compete due to the increasing pressure from tougher enemies beginning to approach his position. By then, he now started considering finding a platform of his own. Allowing his barriers to fully recharge, he quickly bolted from cover to a more advantageous location. From there, he began to catch up. Managing to funnel a cluster of approaching enemies, he tossed in a grenade, catching the group off guard while he reloaded. After he reloaded, he continued to fire his rounds at the holographic opponents that remained.

"How many do you have now?" Jane asked as she reloaded her weapon.

"I'm currently at thirty-nine," Saren answered as he crouched down beside her.

"Damn, only at thirty-six," Jane feigned her disappointment.

"Well, if it's any consolation, it's a lead you're making me work for."

"Then we have several more before the game ends," Jane beckoned, "you up for it?"

"Of course," the turian Spectre nodded.

Saren jumped back out of cover, firing at one more wave of enemies. Likewise, Jane followed suit and unleashed her set of rounds. They struggled through one more wave, pulling through with only a couple thermal clips to spare. Saren finished off one more enemy with a bash from his rifle before the simulation ended. The two walked out of the room to the console to see the final tally. Seeing that Shepard beat him by only one point, he sighed as he ruffled Jane's hair.

"You fought well, Jane," Saren complimented, "you'll make a great Spectre."

Jane couldn't help but smile at her mentor. The two decided to take a quick lunch break before moving on to Jane's next lesson for that day. This time, Saren considered covering hacking for the day. Using her omni-tool against used hardware confiscated by C-Sec during various raids, Saren set her up with the most basic security settings. Looking over her shoulder, he directed her the very basics of using an omni-tool hacking program.

"The use of the omni-tool is to direct the inserted program through security firewalls," he introduced.

"Right," Jane nodded while she examined the new features installed in her omni-tool.

Continuing to watch her like a hawk, he told her the various methods of slowing down a system's defenses should she trip the alarm by erecting counter-firewalls, freeze-programs, and hydro-worms should maintaining an undetected physical presence be critical. All the while, Jane listened carefully as she took notes.

"The rest you'll learn through practice. Ready?" he asked.

"I'm up for it," Jane nodded.

"I'll give you something a little tougher than what we were practicing with earlier. See if you can crack through security," Saren quickly reset the old terminal they sat in front of with a fresh firewall.

Upon cue, Jane started working on disabling the firewall. Unlike combat, omni-tool hacking wasn't nearly as easy to pick up on as she did fail a few times before she managed to cut through security. Saren gave her a nod of approval when he saw her complete her first session. She continued practice with the current difficulty for the rest of the hour.

"Slow, but it's coming along nicely. Let's turn the difficulty up a notch. This is what you'll often encounter when you're against low-budget groups who barely scrap by with armor and weapons for their whole team."

Saren approached the console and adjusted the difficulty level. Jane started working her way through. She found that other than an increase in firewall reaction time, the same rules generally applied. Through trial and error, she improved with each attempt. On her fifth attempt, she successfully bypassed security.

"You improved," Saren praised, "I'm well impressed."

Another couple of hours passed as they continued practice. Towards the end of the day, Saren established a session on the highest settings.

"Now," Saren continued, "network security that is this tough is rare and is only provided by premium services and criminal masterminds who write their own security algorithms, but they still exist. For now, there's no need to try and succeed. Just dip your toes in the water."

"Got it," Jane nodded.

He wasn't lying when he said that it was the toughest security setting she would come across. At the start of all three attempts, she was quickly detected by the system firewalls and quickly had her connection severed.

"Don't worry. No one passes on the first try."

While Jane sighed in disappointment, Saren gave her a reassuring expression as he ruffled her hair. He stood to his feet and shut off the terminal.

"I think that's enough for today. Besides, we'll be devoting all of tomorrow towards investigation and data analysis."

Saren and Jane stepped out of the room and exited the academy, making their way through the Presidium until they arrived at the apartment.

* * *

The third day followed when they returned to the academy one more time before Saren assigned their next mission. Taking her to the forensics lab he quickly had a talk with the personnel there to set up the simulation room. While the staff began preparing the simulation room, Saren and Jane waited out in the hall on a bench. This gave Saren a chance to brief her on her lesson.

"We'll be searching through two sites today," he explained, "one will be a demonstration that I'll walk you through with to get a basic understanding of what to look for. The second is a remake of an infamous case C-Sec handled almost three centuries ago. From there, I'll be setting you loose to see how well you adapt."

Jane shifted her weight on one foot while still standing.

"I suppose I can handle it," Jane replied.

Another fifteen minutes passed before they entered. It looked like an apartment of generally middle-class standing, not too different from their own apartment.

"Now, this exercise is meant to simulate a drug bust. Naturally, we would need a warrant before breaking in like this, but we as Spectres can approach how we feel so long as we still abide by the Council and avoid committing political-level crimes," Saren started.

"I understand, Saren," Jane nodded.

He pulled out his omni-tool and pulled up a blue screen.

"As part of the omni-tool I got you," Saren continued, "it comes with an electric signal scanner. What it does is pick up active electronic circuits and their various components. It comes especially in handy when you're looking for hidden compartments."

As an example, he opened up a cabinet in the kitchen to reveal a small keypad on the underside. Saren stepped aside, allowing Jane to get a closer look at the keypad.

"The secondary function highlights organic tissue, whether it be alive or dead. For example, it can pick up specks of dead skin cells on finger prints," he added, showing which keys had been pressed before trying a few combinations.

Suddenly, a hidden door in the hallway leading to the kitchen swung open to reveal a small room.

"Another way to use this would be looking for trails of blood, stained uniforms, or hair in the case of humans," Saren added.

Jane carefully listened while she took some notes. He continued to explain how even clumps of dandruff and dust on the floor told a story of where that person went and how frequently they visited certain locations. During that time, Jane took the time to examine the simulated crime scene with Saren showing her four more hidden stashes and other clues to pick up on before letting her loose to find all the other clues and contraband scattered throughout the room. It didn't take too long for her to complete the task.

"Nice work. You managed to pull off twenty-two of the total twenty-five clues total," Saren hummed as they exited the room, "now, let's see what you can do against a bigger case."

After exiting, the room began to morph again into what looked to be what was left of a lab, now left in smoldering ruins.

"Is this that serious case C-Sec dealt with a few centuries ago?" Jane pointed out.

"Yes. Some asari psychologist who was experimenting with what would've equated to mind control," Saren answered, "someone ratted her out, she blew her lab up, and made a run for it. It took nearly half a century for the Spectres to finally catch up. By then, she'd killed hundreds in the process and most importantly sold what is the modern design for inhibition suppressors to slavers. Meanwhile, C-Sec had evidence still left in her lab, staring them in the face. What your job right now is to find what they missed."

Jane nodded before she stepped into the room to begin the session. It was admittedly tough, digging through the scraps of ruined lab. She continued digging while Saren fetched food for the two of them from the academy cafeteria. While double-checking the list in her omni-tool, Jane crossed out the obvious clues to dig deeper into the case. She began to look under fallen pieces of debris, digging up terminals that were just barely functional enough to pull data from. She dug through every nook and cranny to get whatever she could get her hands on, before recording it on her omni-tool. A short while later, she noticed a clue that the list didn't identify.

Feeling under a desk, she had noticed that a tile in the floor sank slightly lower. Lifting up the tile, she found a datapad covered with dust and enough battery power to quickly crack its security. What she did manage to get from it was a half of a security key she needed to crack the lock on a terminal she salvaged from the dust earlier. Plugging in the other code she found on a cracked datapad tossed into a dark hole, she entered the target's files, digging through messages, names, monetary exchanges, reports, and more. While reading through the details, she took some notes in her omni-tool. She sifted through everything that had been updated within the last month, primarily her messages, recent purchases, and contacts' information. From there, she finally found a lead to pick up on.

With a new clue she detected, she continued with her session. She continued to dig through for another half hour before turning for the door with all the evidence she needed. Saren unfolded his arms when he saw his apprentice emerge from the door.

"So what did you find?" he asked.

"A trail to follow. I've got details concerning her proof of purchase, who she talked to, where her initial path would've been once she bolted from the Citadel. Catching her would be a matter of doing the same wherever the trail stops until we caught her," Jane answered, pulling out her omni-tool.

After reading the details of her findings, he gazed back gleefully.

"Jane, I'm proud of you. You managed to achieve in a day what C-Sec took five years to abandon, thirty five years for the Spectres to pick back up again, and another five years to realize it was far too late. Congratulations."

Saren ran his talons through Jane's hair, allowing her to lean into the touch. The two turned to leave as the simulation chamber shut off and faded back to its default state.


	16. Zaeed Strikes Again

Two days have passed since Jane's previous lesson and the Council found a chance to relay the details of the next mission to her and Saren. The Blue Suns noticeably stepped up their game recently in the criminal underworld since Vido took over Zaeed. Saren read over the mission details in his omni-tool while he was in the midst of preparing his breakfast. At the same time, Jane followed through the instructions she found while she prepared a cup of kava. Saren felt some grogginess in his head, considering he woke up late that morning and slowly stumbled out of their bedroom. By the time he finished preparing his breakfast, Jane poured some kava into his mug and met up with him at the kitchen table, catching his interest.

"Shepard?" Saren paused.

"I thought I'd make your kava the way you like it," Jane replied.

He picked up the cup and took a long chug.

"Thanks," Saren complimented, "I need that."

Smiling, Jane returned to the kitchen counter to grab a cinnamon roll and pour herself some coffee she brewed some time ago.

"So, what's the mission?" Jane asked.

He groaned as his mind attempted to work through the sleepy fog still enveloping his mind.

"The Council wants us to pursue an issue concerning the Blue Suns."

Jane took a moment to think over the mission while she took a bite out of her cinnamon roll.

"I asked another to join us to help him with his own personal vendetta. I hope you don't mind that," Saren added after another sip.

Jane tilted her head sideways and raised her eyebrows. He explained his brief encounter with Zaeed and how the former Blue Suns leader vowed revenge on the co-founder who had wronged him of his place in the organization.

"So you encountered him while I was in the hospital?" Jane clarified.

"Yeah," Saren nodded, "he'd probably be long dead if I didn't intervene when I did. Not sure if I should've, but it's what happened."

Jane gave Saren a soft smile before she took a sip of her coffee.

* * *

An hour later, the two geared up to head out. Quickly messaging Councilor Sparatus to inform him they would be leaving shortly, the two left for the Spectre docks. Once they reached the docks, their shuttle had already been fueled and repaired, ready for departure. They boarded the shuttle and settled into the cockpit before Saren turned on the ignition and took control of the shuttle, hovering it out of the Citadel. Finally, the two were heading to Omega deep within Terminus Space. It was still up in the air as to whether it would happen, but their current objective was to eliminate and/or apprehend the current leader of the mercenary faction. Once the shuttle emerged from the Mass Relay, it continued its trek through Omega space, heading closer to its destination. En route to the station, Saren continued to look over a profile of a merchant the Blue Suns were meeting that day. The details the profile covered felt disturbing enough that he allowed Jane to examine it as well.

"I'll have to ask Captain Anderson after this. Whoever this man is, he doesn't show up on the Citadel records," Saren sighed.

After she finished reading the profile, Jane shut off her omni-tool and relaxed into her seat.

"Perhaps he…looks familiar by chance?" Jane asked.

Saren took a moment to examine the mugshot.

"Strange," Saren muttered to himself, "the last time I saw this picture…"

Saren pulled out Jane's genetic profile and found a matching image from who her potential father could be.

"Shepard," Saren asked, "are you ok with tracking this man down and taking a sample from him?"

"We won't know anything about him until we get down there and confront him. For all we know, he's a removed uncle," Jane sighed.

"That's a good point," Saren agreed.

Their shuttle quickly docked, allowing them to board the ancient station. It was as how the Spectre academy simulation depicted it: dank, dark, ugly in design, plenty of exposed machinery, a subtle feeling of claustrophobia, and the constant sensation something was stalking them. While Jane took in her surroundings, she couldn't help but shudder in nervousness, so Saren gave her a reassuring glance.

"Just stay close," Saren advised, "we'll be fine."

"Right," Jane nodded.

They first walked down to a large marketplace to meet up with Zaeed as Saren had agreed earlier. Walking into the open, they saw him down at a small bench at the other side. He wasn't too different since Saren had last seen him. His armor was still the same set he had as the Blue Suns leader now with yellow as the primary with a large white stripe, no arm protection besides the suit body glove, and a heavy right shoulder pad.

"Arterius. I was starting to think some thug got the better of you," Zaeed greeted.

"Last time I was on this station, I made quite a bit of ruckus. I'd rather not gain back unwanted attention," Saren returned.

Zaeed let out a small chuckle while he stood from the bench.

"Also," Zaeed asked, gesturing to Shepard, "who's she?"

Jane and Saren exchanged glances before returning their gaze to Zaeed.

"This is Jane Shepard," Saren answered, "and she's my apprentice."

"A human in the Spectres? Interesting," the former Blue Suns leader replied in contemplation, "anyways, come along. Vido's set up new protocols, but I've been keeping an eye on where he sets up his establishments."

With that, Zaeed led Saren and Jane farther through the station. They stopped a block away from a well-lit apartment building. The Blue Suns had booted out the previous inhabitants to make way for their base of operations. Jane scanned their surroundings for any patrolling guards.

"I want that bastard dead like nothing else, but I know I should defer to you, first," Zaeed started, "we taking this quietly, or loud?"

"I prefer to do this quietly," Jane answered.

"For now, hang back and contact us if trouble comes," Saren told Zaeed as he gave his omni-tool contact information, "stick to the shadows, and try to avoid being recognized."

"Eh, Santiago's done all he can to erase me from Blue Suns records. Few but him will recognize me by now," Zaeed hummed.

Upon cue, Zaeed started to keep watch for any adversaries while Saren and Jane snuck closer to the apartment building. Climbing on top of a dumpster and onto a small roof, they broke and entered through a small window overlooking another alley. From there, they crept through the corridor and kept an eye out for any Blue Suns.

"We won't need to fight much, right?" Jane asked.

"Right. Just anything that could help us triangulate where the meeting is taking place," Saren answered.

They stopped at a corner and scanned their surroundings to check whether the coast was clear. They exited the room into a small corridor with windows overlooking the workhouse below. From there, they snuck past any Blue Suns on patrol. Cautiously keeping crouched, the two slipped into another office before quietly closing the door behind them.

"Go and check that terminal, I'll keep an eye on the door," Saren ordered, opening the door back open a crack to get a look outside.

Upon cue, Jane went to work hacking into the terminal. The terminal's security setting was just easy enough for her to worm her way through. She quickly logged in and began to search the direct messages, looking through name after name.

"Remind me, who is the guy the Blue Suns are trading with?" Jane asked.

Saren sent the profile in question to Jane's omni-tool, allowing her to read it. He quickly received an incoming call from Zaeed shortly after.

_{Guys, you might want to hurry up. A large group just showed up outside of the warehouse. They've also got a bunch of guys I don't recognize.}_

Saren peeked out the door as the warehouse doors creaked open, watching at least a dozen Blue Suns walk in with four in some unidentified squad. By then, Jane just found the name she sought after in the terminal. After looking into what this Ivan Barnes had been involved with, she quickly downloaded his files.

 _{I'm keeping close behind. Can you hear anything from where you are?}_ Zaeed informed.

"Barely," Saren answered, watching below.

The four strangers brought in a pair of reinforced crates.

"They're in good condition and fresh from the archaeological sites," a man with a thick accent below explained, "all you need to do is touch up on their condition and they should be ready to use without malfunction."

It didn't take much longer for Jane to finish downloading the files into her omni-tool.

"Good, let's see them," Vido demanded.

The strangers set off to undo the latches securing the crates tight. Jane and Saren could barely see into the crate what looked to be bronze-colored 'modern' sculptures in. The leader of the four, Ivan, picked up one like a rifle.

"Here," he said, "four Prothean particle rifles as promised. Now, remember they are rather heavy for the firepower they promise."

Vido plucked the sculpture out of Ivan's hands and examined it.

"Very good. Still set on a two hundred thousand credit price-tag?"

"Per gun," Ivan added.

"Of course," Vido nodded, "I'll pay in full."

Vido began to transfer the credits to Ivan and his gang.

"Zaeed, have any flashbangs?" Saren asked.

 _{Just incendiaries,}_ Massani answered.

"It'll do. You'll know when to toss one in."

Pulling a concussion grenade from his belt and tossed it into the center of the crowd. Catching on faster than the others, Ivan dove out of the way as the grenade went off and Zaeed followed up with his own incendiary grenade. Seconds later, flames started sprouting all over the room.

Zaeed quickly domed Vido while his shields were still down, and gunned down as many Blue Suns as he could while they still recovered from the temporary blindness or crawled out of the flames.

"Quick," Saren urged, "let's get down there."

Putting his legs over the railing, Saren jumped for a number of shelves opposite to them to attempt climbing down quickly to box the other Blue Suns in. Unfortunately, he hadn't anticipated the shelving unit being top-heavy, resulting in him and the shelf falling to floor, and knocking down the other rows like dominoes. Anxiety surging through her veins, Jane climbed down just as the Blue Suns caught attention of the loud noise from the falling shelves. Shepard reached the floor and sprinted towards Saren.

"Are you ok?" Jane tried as hard as she could to keep herself from panicking.

Saren yanked her down onto the floor and fired back upon the Blue Suns assailants as they began firing upon her.

"I'm…fine…just give me a moment…" he painfully groaned, stepping back to his feet.

Saren pulled Jane to her feet before he emitted a biotic shield, stopping any bullets from hitting her. In offense, he tossed some of the fallen crates at the Blue Suns troops and incapacitating much of the remaining offenders, including two of the unidentified crew members.

With the Blue Suns focusing on the turian Spectre, Zaeed found his chance to strike. Tossing one more incendiary, the last of the Blue Suns were consumed in the flames. Barnes had kept low for the firefight and had crawled off just out of sight behind a crate away from Jane, Saren, and Zaeed.

"All right, you bastard!" Zaeed yelled out, "come out and show yourself!"

Zaeed trained his gun at where Ivan crawled off to, turning on a laser sight to let him know he meant business. Ivan slowly stood up with his hands above his head, turning to face the group. He squinted at Jane in particular for a moment, analyzing her.

"Hannah?" Ivan paused.

Jane shook her head.

"That was my mother's name," Jane corrected.

He continued to stare.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Jane Shepard," Jane answered while she placed her hand on her chest, "my mother died when I was eight."

"I…but that…how…" Ivan stammered.

Questions circled him as the flames continued to roar. Her eyes also seemed to flicker with flames as she stepped closer to him.

"So what? The last I'd seen her was years ago. What'd you expect?"

Anxiously, Ivan glanced around the room for any escape.

"Why don't you tell us where you got the contraband?" Jane pestered.

"Well, I'm sorry if you expected a better fatherly figure, but that's not how the galaxy operates. Not anymore."

Debris fell from the ceiling, drawing their attention long enough for Ivan to bolt to the other side of the warehouse to make his escape. Jane thought fast and pulled Zaeed from a piece of falling debris.

"Christ! For a girl your size, you pack a punch. At least we got Vido, that bastard," Zaeed cursed as he climbed back up.

"Conversations can be saved for later, Massani," Saren reminded.

Without hesitation, the three sprinted back outside as the warehouse behind them continued to burn. Saren glanced at Jane.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I'm ok," Jane reassured, taking Saren's hand into her own.

"I can understand if your family history isn't exactly savory," he sighed.

Jane lifted Saren's hand and pressed her cheek against it. Zaeed simply stared at the two before clearing his throat.

"Anyways, I really appreciate this opportunity, Arterius. Thanks for calling me in."

Saren and Jane shifted their gaze towards Zaeed.

"Anytime," Saren replied.

They parted ways and made for the shuttle they arrived on with the confiscated Prothean weapons in tow. He set the vessel to return to the Citadel when he turned to look at Jane.

"How do you feel?"

Jane leaned back and tilted her head towards Saren.

"I'm not surprised my dad turned out to be a dick," Jane answered, "many of my mom's clients also tend to be asshats."

"At least you're the better person," he sighed, watching the shuttle jump through the relay.

Jane smiled as she relaxed further into her seat.

"So what now?" she asked.

Saren glanced at the crates behind them.

"For now, let's just head back to the Citadel," he suggested, "I'll file the mission report and hand your father's identity off to Anderson. Maybe he'll know what to do with him."

* * *

After a few hours of flight, Saren and Jane returned to the Citadel and the turian Spectre landed his shuttle in the Spectre docks. The two carried the contraband weapons to the Spectre academy before Saren sent a call to Anderson.

_{Arterius. I didn't expect to hear from you.}_

Saren took a moment to clear his throat.

"I had an encounter during a mission with Ms. Shepard," he explained, "I'll be sending you his profile, and I thought I could get maybe a few more answers from your side of things."

Saren wasted no time as he sent the files over his omni-tool.

 _{Him? We don't have much on him outside of vid feed from security cameras and pictures from intel agents,}_ Anderson replied.

His reaction still piqued Saren's interest.

"So you've heard of him?"

 _{Yes, he's been targeting archaeological dig-sites throughout Alliance Space,}_ Anderson nodded over the com-link.

Saren sighed while he closed his eyes for a moment.

"Thank you for the information, Anderson," Saren acknowledged, "I'll look into it later."

It didn't take much long before Saren hung up. Saren decided to keep one of the Prothean rifles for possible future use as the two traveled back to their apartment. Once inside, the Spectre and his apprentice changed out of their armor and slipped into their casual outfits.

"So, how do you feel about your…father?" Saren hesitantly asked.

Jane sat down next to Saren in the living room.

"I doubt he's redeemable," Jane shrugged.

He continued to look over the Prothean rifle, only having actually held one a couple of times before.

"So, even as estranged family, you wouldn't mind if ill fate befell him?"

"Sure," Jane nodded.

He took time to reflect on Desolas as he repeated Jane's answer in his mind. If anything, it would help her feel better about her past. After making up his mind, he turned his attention towards Jane. She responded by brushing her hand against his mandible, eliciting purrs out of him.

"Why? You had troubles with family before?" Jane returned.

He sighed.

"It's…complicated."

Jane blinked twice.

"Do you need more time before you're ready to talk about it?" Jane replied.

"It's something I've buried for a good long time now. But, if it'd help you at all, I'd be willing to disclose my story," Saren mumbled.

Jane rested her hands on her lap.

"Well, I guess it's better late than later," she nodded.

"I'll spill, just give me some time to think it over, alright?"

Spectre profiles were classified, and he felt comfortable with living on life with the knowledge that very few knew about his past. A question he started asking himself was how was he going to explain it to his protege? Not that there was anything to be ashamed of. He wasn't nearly as invested in his tier as others in the Hierarchy were, but those were years of dust and pain he hated being reminded of. Perhaps it would give him relief about what happened with Jane around as someone he can relate to. A calm expression in his face, he placed his arm over her shoulder.

"I used to have an older brother," Saren explained, "and we were both born from lower tier clans."

"Oh? What was he like?" Jane asked curiously.

"We didn't exactly get along, if that's what you're asking," Saren added, "our parents were both mechanics, worked on a shipping freighter, keeping the damned thing intact. They were hoping that if they worked for long enough, they could find a place on one of the colonies."

"So were you…born on Palaven?" Jane couldn't help but let her curiosity run rampant.

"No," Saren shook his head, "my brother and I were both born on that ship. They were supposedly really worried when I came onto the scene, about finances and all."

Jane kept paying attention as she leaned her back into the couch.

"By the time he was six and I was two, a bunch of pirates boarded the ship and attacked the crew," Saren continued, "our barge had a large crew, so fighting them off wasn't too much of an issue when they had too many to shoot at. However, both of our parents got caught in the crossfire."

"I guess you're fortunate you're still alive," Jane replied.

"Desolas didn't think so," he sighed, "he was six, had two-cycle old me to deal with, and no other family to look to. He took me for granted and made no effort to hide it. A few months after the attack, it was clear no one on the ship wanted to take up the slack, so they dropped us off at the next colony on the fringes of turian space they came across at a foster home."

Jane placed her finger on her chin.

"And yet I didn't end up with foster parents in my youth," Jane added.

Saren's eyes met hers.

"Neither did we," Saren said, "we both continued in that rotting building for another nine years for Desolas and another thirteen for me. Everyday of our time at that foster center, he basically saw me as the heart of all his problems."

"You know," Jane commented, "I never thought of what it'd be like to have a sibling, and now I can see why."

"I don't know what you'd be like having an older brother to grow up with," Saren hummed, "anyways, later in life, he saw me as an obstacle, something to be disassociated with. We both attended mandatory military service, and he became a general from there."

"So how did you end up becoming a Spectre?" Jane asked.

"During my first year of service, I caught the attention of my superiors," he explained, "soon enough, word climbed its way to the councilor at the time. I was young, but I did look good on paper. Seeing it as escape from my brother, I took up the opportunity as soon as I received it."

Jane nodded in agreement before she leaned closer to Saren.

"A few years later, the Relay 314 Incident…er, First Contact War…? The Turian-Human War started and we were both drafted in. I was about to start Spectre training when the war broke out."

"That was because humans didn't know activating Mass Relays without authorization was illegal, right?" Jane recalled.

He nodded.

"Yeah, that mess," Saren answered, "he died towards the end of the war when his unit was ambushed by a squad of Alliance commandos when they baited him in with a Prothean artifact that was on Shanxi at the time."

Well, that was enough for Jane to understand why she didn't hear much of his relatives. Maybe her earning his trust did make some changes for the both of them.

"So, my story isn't far too different from your story. We've lived the threat of our ruinous pasts to end up here, right now," he said, barely holding back a whimper.

Again, Jane brushed her hand against his mandible in an attempt to soothe him. Their eyes locked for a moment, with his cheeks in her hands.

"Since we have some things in common," Jane admitted, "that helped me earn your trust. That might've been…why I fell in love with you, Saren."

Jane leaned forward and tapped her forehead against his.

"I…I…" he trembled as he felt her against him.

Saren took a moment to examine the compassion in her eyes before he felt his expression soften.

"I love you too, Shepard," he replied softly.

Saren pulled her into a passionate kiss, calmness passing in between them.


	17. No One Messes With T'Soni

Over the next few days, Jane had been continuing practice with omni-tool hacking. Saren observed on the sidelines throughout the session. In the meantime, he was checking over two of the Prothean rifles they got from her father. Whoever assembled it must've had some incredible skills.

Saren put aside the rifle and stood to his feet.

"How's it coming along?" he asked.

Jane barely finished her objective when she tilted her head towards Saren.

"Better. I've gotten the hang of the higher security levels, anyways."

Saren's mandibles flexed into a grin full of pride. Currently, he was still waiting for word from Anderson concerning Ivan's whereabouts. In the meantime, Saren adjusted the level through the console slightly. It was the hardest setting, but he was confident by now Shepard would pick up quickly. Seconds later, Jane started her next session. Still, Saren decided that Jane would learn much more from missions arranged in a spontaneous fashion opposed to a scheduled course. While Jane made her progress, he finally heard a ping from his omni-tool, so he turned it on and read a message from Anderson:

_{Patrols reported unidentified vessels entering the Artemis Tau Cluster. Intercepted coms suggest our friend Barnes is with them. Not sure what they're after in that sector. Deal with them how you see fit.}_

From there, Saren saw this as an opportunity to form a mission out of the update. This was especially when Jane finished her task minutes later.

"Shepard," Saren announced, "our next mission just came up."

Jane paused in her tracks before she turned and approached her mentor.

"So what have we got?" she asked.

"It's Ivan. He's on the move, and was recently reported in the Artemis Tau Cluster," Saren answered, picking up a bag.

Jane took a few moments to put away the equipment before she followed Saren out of the room and they made their way out of the academy. They headed through the Presidium and returned to their apartment, where they gathered their equipment and slipped on their armor. Once they finished, they rushed over to the Spectre docks. Saren led Jane aboard their shuttle, settled into the cockpit and turned on the ignition before he flew it out of the Citadel.

"Do you want to handle him personally?" Saren asked.

"It would most certainly be nice," Jane nodded.

He kept watch on the galaxy map, looking over the various systems within the clusters. His eyes scanned the IFF history of ships that had recently entered the cluster. Saren carefully scanned each IFF history to find a matching IFF of their target while the shuttle hovered closer to the Mass Relay. Anderson had also given them general coordinates to where Ivan's ship travelled after exiting the Mass Relay, saving them the time of having to scan every stem for Ivan's caravan. This proved to be helpful when they reached the system within the coordinates a while after the shuttle exited the Mass Relay. They travelled between the other planets within the system until they came to orbit over Therum.

"I've got a small archaeological camp on the scanners. Looks like Ivan's crew has made their advance."

"Let's hope we're not too late," Jane replied, uneasiness apparent in her tone.

"We'll be dropping right on top of them," Saren suggested, "getting in, and defending that expedition team down there."

They both returned to the cockpit, and Saren turned off the autopilot before diving down into the atmosphere. Jane stared intensely through the windshield while the shuttle maneuvered through the clouds. They pierced the thick atmosphere to have a good look of the volcanic surface below. The rock was a deep maroon and black with rivers of lava flowing plentifully in rivers on the surface. Now it was a matter of finding a suitable place to land. The shuttle kept relatively close to the ground, flying over the mountains when they came into view of the mining camp, spotting a group of prefabs down below. Ivan's team was approaching heavily on a group of PMCs and small mechs returning fire further up the hill.

Saren descended the shuttle towards the ground and found a suitable place to land, turning off the ignition before he gathered his weapons. Picking up their weapons and putting on their helmets, both charged outside with the PMCs' backs to them. Thinking fast, Jane and Saren aimed their guns at the PMCs and pulled the trigger, launching a volley of bullets at them. Ivan's crew began to scatter once they realized they had been flanked. Only a few turned to face them at first, not realizing which was the greater threat, the campsite guards or the two unidentified assailants behind them. The campsite guards in question found a chance to fight back. As the rest of Ivan's subordinates began to take notice of their rapidly falling comrades, they turned in an effort to fight off the newly arrived counterattackers. Among the counterattackers, an asari unleashed a biotic shield to defend her allies from Ivan's forces.

The resulting singularity swept up much of his remaining troops, allowing them to be quickly picked off. Seeing the battle was quickly going against his favor, he opted to begin falling back to a line of vehicles. With Ivan in retreat, Saren and Jane met up with the archaeologists, the asari turning her attention towards them.

They both recognized the young asari upon first glance.

"Ms. T'Soni? We didn't know your team was located here," Saren greeted.

Liara nodded.

"I'm glad to see you two are doing well," she replied.

"Likewise. Anyways, does your mining team have any remaining explosives?" he inquired.

Liara took a moment to glance at her teammates.

"We still have some left. What's the plan?" Liara gestured.

Jane turned on her omni-tool and pulled up a map.

"The attackers won't be gone for long," she suggested, "we could at least use them to whittle their heavies down the next time they come around."

Saren nodded while he folded his arms.

"Good idea, Jane," he praised, "we'll get to work setting them up."

Saren, Jane and the campers wasted no time in setting up the plan. Fortunately, the mining camp was set at the end of a crevasse, with a lava pool cutting off the rest of the way. Most of the defensive structures were still operational, and the placement of explosives at least made the option of driving up the front of the camp area would lead straight into the explosives. The Spectres assisted the campers in planting the explosives while they kept track of their targets. Ivan appeared to be regrouping, giving them enough time to prepare the explosives before getting back a safe distance.

This poor excuse of a father was still in the middle of discussing how to form a counterattack with the remaining of his squad.

"Boss, we should just pull out. Their air defenses are still up and those two who managed to get a drop on the boys dealt quite the pain on us."

Ivan shook his head in disagreement.

"C'mon, it's just ground troops," Ivan clarified, "they don't have any anti-armor. We push in now, we can still catch them off guard. Besides, they have nowhere to run. We'll catch up to them in minutes if they try to leave ground-side."

Ivan stood to his feet.

"Now, let's go. I've already had one bad operation this month, I'm not letting another happen so soon," he commanded.

Ivan gestured his squad to stand to their feet before they emerged from hiding. They advanced back up the path to the archaeological dig site they had been successfully besieging until the two unidentified interlopers forced them to retreat. With knowledge that they were present, there shouldn't be anymore surprises as long as they kept their wits about them.

Venturing to the dig site without any surprises, though, seemed easier said than done. With their armor support, they did quickly push back the remaining guards at the site back further among the prefabs. They finally began to close in on what was left of their cover when explosions roared underneath their feet. To add insult to injury, their hope of escape started slipping away. One of the vehicle drivers managed to climb out when a stray round pierced his helmet, killing him instantly. Among hacking, Saren had been teaching Jane the use of a sniper rifle back on the Citadel.

"Excellent shot," he hummed, looking down his own rifle scope at the attackers below.

Having confirmed a target in site, Saren took aim and pulled the trigger. Another went down as he loaded another thermal clip into his rifle. Jane peered through the scope of her rifle until she found Ivan. She wanted to see the gray matter spray out the back of his head, but he didn't deserve such a quick death. Besides, she just wanted to look him one last time in the eye before she finished him off. She fired her rifle, catching him clean through his chest. Letting out a startled gasp, Ivan clutched his chest as it bled profusely.

"That's for mom," Jane mumbled as Saren followed up with another shot.

The blow to the head was enough for Ivan to drop to the ground. The last few hostiles only had their ruined vehicles for cover. One by one, each one fell from another shot. By the time Saren and Jane cleared out their targets, the turian Spectre signaled to the archaeologist that the coast was clear. Jane kept her eye on where Ivan fell, strolling calmly up to him with her pistol in her hand. He was leaning up against a bit of cover as he clutched his chest, coughing blood between heavy breaths.

"Ivan…" Jane started.

Ivan slowly tilted his head upwards until he met Jane's eyes.

"You again…" he grumbled.

His eyes dropped again as he looked away from her to nothingness, continuing to breath heavily.

"Ha-H-Haaannnah…please…forgive me…"

Jane stared in confusion while she blinked twice. She hesitated only a second longer before she raised her weapon and shot him through his temple.

"She'll be waiting for you on the other side," Jane said to herself.

Saren watched as she walked away from her late father.

"You alright?"

Jane paused for a moment before she nodded. He reached an arm out to bring her close. The instant she spotted his arm from the corner of her eye, she stepped a little closer to Saren and leaned onto him. They stood there for a little longer before helping Liara and her party to treat the wounded and see to repairs and clean-up on its way. During that time, Saren and Jane sought a chance to hold a small meeting with Liara. Walking inside one of the prefabs, they met with her inside of the mess hall.

"Thank you, Arterius. I don't know how you found us when you did, but I'm glad you arrived. You two forever have my gratitude."

"Anytime, Liara," Jane replied, "how have you been doing?"

"I've been continuing my expeditions over the last couple years since I had met you two," Liara answered, "it's therapeutic, digging through ancient ruins."

"Glad to hear it," Saren hummed in enthusiasm.

"Other than that, nothing too interesting has happened outside of today. What about you?" Liara returned.

Jane rested her arms on the table.

"I've been undergoing Spectre training under Saren," Jane answered.

"She's doing very well, as a matter of fact," he added.

Liara smiled back.

"That's splendid. My team in the underground ruins have recently dug up something," she commented, "we were going to have it shipped back to Citadel space when the pirates attacked."

Saren let out an enthusiastic hum. They stood up and exited the building before making their way to the mine.

"Perhaps we could send it back with you before more trouble comes," Saren suggested.

"I appreciate your offer," Liara nodded.

The three walked up to a pipe that jutted into the Earth at a forty-five degree angle. Waiting for the decontamination cycle to complete, they entered, walking down the long corridor to the first landing. Along the way, they had to turn at a few corners. The were initially greeted by the usual sights within a cave and a small path of metal stairs and prefab walkways before entering a small tunnel of complete metal. The plates had long since lost their tarnish, but the way the panels were interwoven was unlike any other form of architecture either of them were used to. Jane suspected that whoever built this tunnel had extraordinary skills.

"Well, what an incredible sight to behold…" Saren muttered aloud.

Before long, Saren, Jane and Liara arrived in a large circular chamber where the middle dipped down a bit like a shallow bowl or dish, where a small control console sat in the middle. Liara led the other two to the center where she tapped the controls and sent the center of the room receding deeper into the ground. While the platform descended, Jane resorted to observing the mechanical parts in action while she waited. All along the walls were a series of hydraulics, constantly shifting as they traveled further down into the planet surface. Sharply, the platform slowed down as they reached the bottom, the exit facing deeper into the mine.

"Here it is. We just dug it up a couple of days ago, and we were preparing to have it lifted to the surface," Liara added as she gestured to a prism with a surface like stainless steel.

Jane felt mesmerized at the size of the strange device when she caught a glimpse of it.

"A functioning beacon," Saren hummed, "I mean, is it active?"

Liara shook her head.

"We haven't accessed its files yet," she admitted.

Jane looked sternly at the metal pillar, looking for some sort of access point or possible opening.

"How do these things work?" she asked, walking up to it.

Saren approached Jane seconds later.

"I can show you," Saren offered, "but you most likely need to be careful handling the beacon."

"Now now," Liara interrupted, "we should probably do this in a safer environment. We don't know if—"

Jane just started examining the details of the beacon, attempting to remain cautious as she could. Slowly approaching it, her fingertips slowly brushed against the side of the structure, causing the beacon to suddenly glow. Without warning, Jane felt a sudden shock from the beacon, eliciting a startled yelp out of her. An invisible force yanked her forward and hoisted her up in front of the beacon as electric jolts riddled her body. Saren's mandibles twitched rapidly as panic surged through his spine.

"No," he gasped to himself.

Jane felt her mind being pulled inward as her mind's eye was suddenly pulled into a dark chamber. Before her was a map of the galaxy, as she looked around.

"W-What is this?" Jane gasped to herself.

Her words echoed into nothingness around her. Jane made as much effort as she could to move a limb, but she felt as if someone paralyzed her body. Within the galaxy map below her, little red blips lit up, scattered and few across the galaxy. Having no clue how to break free of this trance, her eyes squinted carefully at the red blips.

A few more seconds passed when Saren sharply pulled her down, away from the beacon and back into the real world.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked.

Having snapped out of her trance, Jane felt her breath quicken over the recovery from the shock.

"Jane?" Saren kept repeating.

Jane groaned softly as her vision returned and she turned her head towards her mentor, who sat on the ground and held her in a gentle embrace.

"Saren," she whispered.

"You had us worried there for a moment. Are you feeling alright?" Liara repeated.

Jane wanted to nod, but she held her forehead with her hand as a headache refused to dissipate. Softness in his eyes, Saren nuzzled his face against hers, his subvocals letting out soft purrs.

"Easy. Let's get you to your feet."

Saren wrapped his arm around Jane's shoulder and helped her to her feet.

"So, what did you see while you were using the beacon?" Liara asked.

"I…uh," Jane stammered.

"Let's just take it easy for now. The first time using a beacon is hard on everyone," Saren interrupted.

The two returned to the surface to give Jane a chance to recover while the dig-site workers retrieved the beacon. All Saren could do was let Jane rest closer to him while she rested on a bench. He quickly fetched ration packets for the two of them while they continued to rest. When he returned to the bench, he offered a ration packet to Jane.

"Here. You'll feel better," he told her.

Jane accepted the ration packet and she started eating out of it.

"Thanks, Saren," she replied softly.

They continued to eat silently as the nearby workers loaded the beacon onto their shuttle.

"I remember the first time I looked into a beacon," Saren admitted.

"Y-You do?" Jane paused.

"Yes. It was terrifying. I was still in the turian military at the time, still a sergeant. My squad was the only one to push through a team of pirates on a colony, looking to make a smash and grab. Our orders were to reach the beacon and secure it for ex-fil," Saren started explaining, "one of my squad members got too close. I pulled them out and got connected in their place."

"So…what did you see?" Jane asked.

Saren sighed as he sat down next to her.

"It was history records," he answered, "it revolved around what little we know about the Prothean-Rachni Wars. The beacon was heavily damaged at the time, so it blew up."

In between bites from his ration packet, Saren placed his arm over Jane's shoulders.

"So what did you see, Shepard?"

"It was the galaxy map, with markings all over it. I don't know what it was trying to tell me," she answered.

Saren placed a finger on his mandible as he thought over her answer.

"Locations, at most. We'll check it out further when we can."

With the vision still embedded in her head, Jane turned on her omni-tool and pulled up a map of the galaxy before she set off to place marks on the locations of the red blips where she last recalled seeing them.

"I still remember a few of them," she admitted.

"I see," Saren mused, "perhaps we can look into these locations you speak of and see if there are any interesting findings."

By the time they finished their meals, they began preparing to leave for their shuttle.


	18. Passionate Spectres

With Liara and her crew having loaded the beacon onto their shuttle, Saren and Jane left the planet and made their journey back to the Citadel. They wanted to check if Jane had suffered any effects from the Prothean beacon as well as dropping it off with Citadel regulations. Because of this, Saren escorted Jane to the Huerta Hospital after they landed their shuttle at the Spectre docks. The two quickly found an available doctor to ascertain what damage Jane might've taken when she interfaced with the beacon. They waited in a special kind of examination room with Jane having removed her armor and sitting on the bed until a salarian doctor stepped in.

"Ah, Spectre Arterius. Good to see you again."

Saren grinned as he returned the greeting.

"Mordin. I didn't think you were working today."

Once Mordin stepped closer to Saren, they both shook hands.

"Ah! Ms. Shepard. I assume you're well?" Mordin asked Jane as he glanced around Saren.

The salarian doctor did remember when Saren brought her in a couple years prior.

"I still have a headache," Jane answered, "but nothing too serious, I guess."

"She used a Prothean beacon," Saren explained, "it was her first time, so we want to make sure she hasn't incurred any harm."

Mordin took a deep breath.

"Problematic," he replied, "still, no prior record of human interaction with Prothean tech. Will prove interesting."

Mordin began gathering some medical tools from the counter.

"Now, remain calm and lie back," Mordin instructed, "scanning will take time."

Jane lay down on a medical bed while Mordin got to work with an extensive scan of her head using the equipment he brought out. She continued to lie still with her eyes closed, feeling the pain partially subside if she simply remained still. Mordin continued to look at the image projections and continued to take notes while Saren patiently waited aside. The salarian doctor took notice of the effects of the beacon on her brain during the process.

A solid hour passed before anyone talked. Mordin lifted any equipment away.

"All finished," Mordin informed, "nothing too bad."

Jane slowly sat up on the medical bed and Saren stood from his seat.

"So she'll be all right?" Saren clarified.

"Yes. Nothing permanent. However, would recommend some rest before continuing training," Mordin sharply inhaled before concluding, "could prove more harmful otherwise."

Jane slipped off the bed before following Saren out of the room and they sauntered down the corridor, making their way out of the hospital.

"I'll send a report for now. Maybe we can follow up with one of those Prothean sites after a few days," Saren sighed as he pulled out his omni-tool to check the schedule.

The turian Spectre took his time to type down his report and send it to the Council before he escorted his human apprentice back to his apartment. After they both put away their armor, Jane stepped out into the balcony and started maintaining her garden while Saren headed into the bathroom to take a shower. Saren quickly jumped out of the shower only wearing pants when he walked out to check on her garden. Ever since she started it, she worked the various plants into large beds and added hooks on the balcony walls to hang plants from. He stood idly by so he wouldn't disturb her, yet he couldn't help but admire her gradual effort.

Jane glanced over her shoulder a moment later.

"Enjoy the view?" she asked.

He smiled.

"Yes, it's coming along very nicely."

"Thanks," Jane smiled softly.

"I did bring some painkillers if you needed any," he said, holding up a glass of water and a bottle of pills.

Jane paused for a moment, stood to her feet and approached Saren before she carefully read the directions on the container. She took the medication as directed and washed it down with the glass of water Saren provided. Still, she couldn't help but notice the plates along his chest.

"Sorry, I'm not very sightly right now," Saren blurted, "had to make sure you were still alright."

He hadn't put on a shirt after finishing his shower.

"It's ok," Jane chuckled.

Once Jane finished with her gardening minutes later, they both stepped back inside as she traced her hand along his chest up to his neck. By the time they reached the living room, she heard him let out soft groans. He purred as Jane leaned closer to him until she rested her face against his keel.

"Want to take this to the bedroom, or want to try somewhere else out? After all, we are alone up here," Saren chuckled, looking to the couch.

Taking the hint, Jane took Saren's hand and led him over to the living room before she gestured him to sit on the couch.

"There is a little something I'd love to try," Jane offered before she leaned in to kiss Saren.

"I'm listening…" he whispered.

While Saren circled his thumbs over Jane's shoulder blades, she reached her hand underneath his pants and traced her finger along his slit. He shifted his torso around as she continued working on his pants, uncoupling the belt and shoving them down his legs. Resting her knees on the floor, Jane leaned her head forward and brushed her tongue along his slit, eliciting a soft gasp out of him.

"You— aaah…this is going in an interesting direction…" he moaned.

Jane continued with her ministrations until the tip began to slowly emerge a couple minutes later. Feeling his plates shift and his erection growing, he watched as she placed her effort with her hand.

"So what did you have planned?"

"I was just getting to the good part," Jane remarked.

Even if Saren was only half erect so far, Jane still took him into her mouth. His body went sharply tense as he felt her lips wrap around him, legs digging into the carpet like he was desperately trying to yank a companion away from death. It was an instant gratification that felt foreign to him, unlike most intercourse experiences he had in the past. While Jane bobbed her head, Saren stroked his hand through her hair.

"Jane…ooohh…" he moaned, continuing to brush her head rhythmically.

By the time he fully extended, Jane gripped his base with her hand and started stroking it, still swirling her tongue around his tip. Saren fully understood the appeal in this form of intercourse, as he felt his climax grow closer. It was overwhelmingly fast, almost like a powerful narcotic. Still, he didn't want for Jane to feel left out, so he tapped on her shoulder, prompting her to withdraw her mouth.

"Saren?" Jane paused.

"Why don't we switch places?" Saren suggested between pants.

"O-Ok," Jane nodded before she dug her hands underneath her pants and slid them down her legs, taking her panties along with them.

With Jane on the couch and Saren kneeling on the carpet, he didn't take long to align his mouth plates up against her folds. She rested her back against the couch just as Saren gripped her hips and brushed his tongue against her nether regions, eliciting a soft moan out of her.

"Now, it's my turn…" Saren hummed before sticking his tongue right in, feeling the insides of her walls.

Moaning, Jane rested her legs on his shoulders while his subvocals let out purrs that sent vibrations into her core. Keeping her legs locked in place, his tongue continued to slither deeper until it reached its full length. She closed her eyes while she brushed her hand along his fringe. Watching her writhe in pleasure and the sensation of her hands against his head caused him to growl ever louder between her hand strokes. While he swirled his tongue inside her, he brushed his talon against the small nub between her legs. Since their last sexual encounter, Saren had taken the time to read up on human female anatomy, learning just how to pleasure her more efficiently. He felt a sense of satisfaction when he watched her buck her hips and arch her back.

What followed was the familiar rewarding sour, salty taste of her ecstasy as her breathing began to slow back down. Withdrawing his tongue, Saren stood to his feet and leaned closer to Jane, her sweat dampening her shirt and her blush growing a crimson color across her face as they locked eyes.

"I hope you're not completely spent yet…" he growled, mandibles spread in a grin.

Jane responded by cupping his face with her hands and pulling him into a kiss. Following her lead, he sat down on the couch beside her, their mouths still connected. During that moment, he stroked his talons along her back, causing her to lean into the touch.

"Ok, I-I think I'm set to go," Jane whispered.

Saren and Jane rearranged themselves as to put her on top and him underneath, calmly stripping off what little clothing she had left on her. Straddling her legs while kneeling on his lap, Jane carefully aligned his tip with her entrance. He greedily filled a palm with a cheek as he helped her down onto him. The thickness of his length inside her was enough for her to groan in thrilling bliss. In conjunction, he let out a prolonged purr as he began to thrust into her. Jane ground her hips with his while she perched her arms on his shoulders.

As she shifted herself on his shoulders, he adjusted his hips so he would thrust in at a better angle. Running her hand along his mandible, Jane ran her tongue along his neck.

"J-Jane…" he whispered, putting his face to her collarbone.

It took as much willpower as he made to restrain himself from sinking his teeth into her shoulder, knowing that other turians would notice his scent on her if he marked her. To avoid carrying out such an endeavor for the time being, Saren licked at her earlobe. The urge was surprisingly hard to resist. Perhaps he'd become attracted to her scent. In the midst of their quickening pace, Jane and Saren locked eyes before she pressed her lips against his, their tongues interlocking with one another. As he wrapped his tongue around hers, he released a muffled growl as he reached his climax.

Even if he had been spent, he still kept going, pounding into her flesh as he held her close. He needed more. He wanted more. He just couldn't get enough until he'd run both of them to exhaustion. Saren knew he wasn't the only one when Jane wrapped her legs around his waist. Hearing her own cries of pleasure and excitement encouraged him to thrust faster. Even when she bucked her hips to sync with his thrusts, her breath quickened and she tightened her grip.

"Yeeeesss…" he moaned as he pounded her ever harder.

It was the joyride that he hoped would never stop. Even Jane wanted the moment to last as long as she could, especially when she tapped her forehead against his. He looked up at her as their eyes met. It was incredibly difficult by now to meet hers completely level from the mix of constant movement, adrenaline, and endorphins, like a music band that was set to play from sun set to sunrise. Still, he kept going and by now, Jane was getting close. A fraction of a second after she let out a blissful yelp and she reached her peak, he followed with a similar uncontrolled growl as he reached another climax.

When Saren and Jane came down from their high, the turian Spectre slowly withdrew from her and allowed her to climb off of him. She stepped out of the living room to retrieve dextro-allergy medicine from the bathroom and washed the medication down with a glass of water before returning to the couch with Saren. She leaned closer to him, prompting him to wrap his arm around her. He smiled down at her as she lay on top of him, feeling the buzzing warmth shimmer off her body.

"Enjoying yourself, Shepard?" Saren purred.

"More than anything," Jane nodded.

"So, the information from the beacon. What did you have in mind? Did it tell you anything besides locations?" Saren asked.

Jane took a moment to think over the question while she rested her head on his chest.

"I…don't think it told me anything else," she admitted.

He placed his head back on the arm rest.

"Even then, what do you hope we would find? A library or data records? Something more? It's fascinatingly intriguing."

"I'm not certain," Jane replied, "but as long as the findings are satisfactory, any finding will do."

He hummed to himself in deep thought.

"I'm just hoping for a proper explanation as to what happened to the Protheans. What drove them to extinction, be it plague, war, or something much more menacing?"

While she rested alongside Saren, Jane took the time she needed to think over this nagging question. The library she and Saren would visit once in a while didn't seem to cover much about Prothean history.

"The library didn't have much on Prothean history or culture to begin with," Saren continued, "having anything to recollect what their era was like would be fine."

Jane nodded in agreement before she and Saren sat up on the couch, scrolling through the channels in search of a suitable movie to watch. Sitting up on the couch, he helped her change the channel to one that played movies.

"Alright, what are we looking at here?" he hummed.

Jane took note of a particular title 'The Shape of Water' and read its summary.

"Do you think we can relate to this vid?" Jane asked.

He followed close behind, reading the description.

"Huh, this is…interestingly familiar. Let's give it a watch."

Jane and Saren flipped to the channel seconds before the movie started playing.

* * *

The following day, Jane checked her messages from her friends and found an interesting invitation from Kelly.

_{Finishing up with basic training in a couple of days. Want to meet up at some point?}_

Jane smiled before she sent a response:

_{What place do you have in mind?}_

_{Someplace small in the wards. It's not too far from where the Alliance is docked if that's alright with you,}_ Kelly quickly replied.

Jane took a moment to read the message before she typed in her response:

_{Ok, I'll see you there.}_

Since Saren had a few errands to run this morning, Jane stepped out of the apartment. By now, Jane knew how to use the nearby cabs to get to where she needed. Getting in, she set the destination to the Alliance sector of the Zakera wards. The familiar sites of parks, shops, and restaurants gave way to the different, yet similar display that those under the Systems Alliance had helped establish for humans on the Station. Stepping back out of the taxi, she was greeted by the magnificent sight of the Alliance Navy, looking on at the hulls of various shades of blue and gray. After finishing observing, she continued her way down a path along the docks to some cafes near by. There, she could see Kelly standing by the door to one of the cafes.

"Kelly?" Jane called over.

"Hey! How've you been, Jane?" Kelly greeted.

It took a matter of seconds before Jane sprinted closer to the door to the cafe. After that, she and Kelly shook hands.

"So far," Jane answered, "I've been making progress with my Spectre training."

"That's nice," Kelly commented, "Jeff wanted to say hello too, but he's still at the pilot academy doing simulations. It's much longer than normal boot camp, which he luckily doesn't have to go through due to his condition."

"So that way he won't have to worry about his bones breaking in an accident," Jane mused as she tilted her head sideways.

Jane and Kelly stepped inside the cafe and found a place to sit.

"So, how's life with a turian…Spectre?" Kelly asked, "does it really matter by now?"

Jane rested her arms on the table.

"So far, we've made efficient teamwork on the field," Jane replied.

Kelly smiled back as she acknowledged their companionship.

"That's great!" she chirped, "most people just can't get around the First Contact War. Good to see you did."

Kelly and Jane picked up the menus on the table.

"So what about you?" Jane asked.

Kelly couldn't help but shrug.

"I don't think looks are top priority," she answered, "it's the characteristics that matter."

The two quickly ordered some lunch before they continued.

"To be honest," Kelly continued, "I find the cultures and biology of other races to be fascinating, artistic even."

Jane nodded in agreement.

"I did check out a couple books on different races from the library when I first moved in with Saren," Jane admitted.

"It's nice to hear you two get along nicely," she hummed.

Minutes later, a waiter arrived with their drink and lunch orders and set them down onto the table.

"So, what's training been like?" Jane asked before taking a first bite.

"The two of us have been training right at Arcturus Station. It's where they hold most of the space-combat simulators in the Navy, and I've been training as an advisor and intelligence officer."

Jane took a bite out of her lasagna.

"So there wasn't any combat training required on your behalf?" Jane clarified.

"Some small arms training and relative combat training," Kelly added, "even as someone who would be on the sidelines, it's still important to be combat-ready under the circumstances of hostile boarding parties."

"And I rest my case," Jane mused.

"Hey, Kelly. Who's this?" a dual tone voice interrupted.

Jane perked her head up to see a young turian in C-Sec armor. His face plates were a silvery-gray and had blue facial markings across the middle of his face, complementing his crystal blue eyes.

Kelly's face lit up as she turned to look at the turian.

"Hi, Garrus!" Kelly chirped, "this is a friend I met back at the academy, Jane."

Jane blinked twice while Garrus sat down next to Kelly.

"Garrus," Jane commented, "that's a nice name. Do you have a last name?"

"Vakarian. Garrus Vakarian," he replied, shaking Jane's hand.

Garrus set down a plate of his meal that resembled a type of cuisine from Palaven. Still, hearing the mention of Garrus's last name rang a bell in Jane's mind.

"I think I heard Castis has the same name as you," Jane pointed out, "are you two related?"

"Pfft," Garrus scoffed playfully, "as my father, yeah."

"Something wrong?" Jane inquired.

"They've had disagreements concerning approach to crime," Kelly swallowed before she answered, "his dad is a stickler for regulations whereas Garrus takes the rules as a blue-sky suggestion."

Jane took a sip of her beverage.

"I guess that explains why Castis and Saren don't get along," she commented.

"Saren? You know him?" Garrus asked, ordering a drink.

"He saved my life from dying in the streets over two years ago," Jane nodded.

Garrus raised a browplate in response.

"That's rather out-of-character for him. Since when did he have such a sharp turn in opinion?"

Jane took another bite out of her lasagna.

"I saw him passing by when he dropped a package he was trying to deliver," Jane explained, "he didn't realize it until after I gave it back to him."

"Still, he's been pretty outspoken about human territorial expansions within the last several galactic cycles," Garrus pondered, "why the sudden change?"

Jane placed a finger on her chin.

"Maybe there's a gentle side of him," Jane mused.

He simply shrugged the thought off.

"Okay. I don't know what you're doing to get through to that old hunk of rock, but do what you want."

Jane, Kelly and Garrus continued with eating their lunches. As they wrapped up their meal and continued talking about their lives, Garrus quietly thought about Jane living with Saren. His attention on her relationship shifted to the opportunity she had as a Spectre candidate. It was none of his business to know the ins and outs of her apprenticeship, but he couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous considering his father had denied him the same opportunity a couple of years prior. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel pity for someone like her left at the mercy of such a sadistic figure.


	19. The Last Prothean

Jane felt reinvigorated after resting for a few days. As to what they had found from the Prothean beacon during the last mission, the two were going back to Eden Prime to visit a recent dig site meant to expand the colony. As was marked on the beacon, the digging crew had found an old, locked, and crumbling facility that had been there long before the colonists ever arrived. This coincidental discovery was enough for Saren and Jane to slip into their armor and gather their weapons before they made their way to the front door. Saren was quickly communicating their arrival to Anderson as they exited the door.

"Anderson, it's Saren," Saren called, "Jane had previously interfaced with a Prothean beacon, giving her the possible whereabouts of other Prothean facilities, one of which being the recent find on Eden Prime."

 _{Wait, you're telling me a human came in contact with a Prothean beacon?}_ Anderson paused over the com-link.

"Yes, she did," Saren sighed, "so far, she hasn't suffered any long term effects, though the doctor did recommend a few days rest after first time use."

Saren and Jane stepped out of the apartment and made their way through the Presidium.

 _{Right, I can arrange for that as well. Also, I'll be sending Alenko along to the site as well. If this has managed to catch your attention, I can't imagine too many others would be close behind,}_ Anderson added before ending the call.

Sighing, Saren shook his head before he led Jane into the Spectre docks.

"You ready?" he mumbled nervously as they walked up the docking bridge to their shuttle.

"Yeah, more than anything," Jane nodded while she sat in a seat at the cockpit.

Saren sat in the pilot's seat before he took control of the shuttle. Saren initiated the familiar process of disconnecting from the docks and feeling the ship glide out past the Citadel fleet, before entering the Mass Relay into Alliance space. While the shuttle was in warp, all the Spectre and his protege could do was wait until they emerge from the other Mass Relay. Exiting the relay and coming into view of the system around them, the two set a course for the familiar garden-like planet of Eden Prime.

"I'd think this would be a rather safe planet," Saren said, "being relatively deep into Alliance Space."

Jane soon recalled the last time she was on Eden Prime.

"Perhaps not the safest," she sighed.

"Still, if the Alliance knows what they're doing, nothing will happen this time around," he reassured.

If anything, all Jane could do was resolve to not let anything horrible happen to her grandparents still living in one of its communities while the shuttle dove into the atmosphere. Docking at the familiar shipping port, much of the shipments going in and out had been pushed aside for a small Alliance cruiser. Saren and Jane disembarked the shuttle and started meandering through the docks. Like their last visit, they went to the nearby tram station where they found a trio of Alliance soldiers, one of which they both recognized as Kaidan Alenko. He had been talking on his omni-tool when he ended the call to greet them.

"Spectre Arterius, Ms. Shepard, it's good to see you two here."

Kaidan extended his hand, so Jane responded by shaking it.

"Likewise, Alenko. Captain Anderson said you were coming," Saren greeted.

Kaidan nodded at Saren before they, Jane and Alenko's squad boarded the tram.

"I assume you two are here to make sure the package gets safely to the Citadel?" Kaidan started, "right now, my current orders are to help get the package to a more 'suitable facility' before we crack it open."

Jane folded her arms.

"Sounds like we have different destinations in mind," she commented.

"If it means getting professional help with whatever they're pulling out, the Citadel will do fine," Kaidan replied, "besides, Arcturus Station is a military center of operations, not an archaeology lab."

Just then, the tram started moving after its doors closed. Saren glanced back one more time.

"So, I heard the Hierarchy and Alliance had a cooperative military project," Saren asked Kaidan, "was that the prototype back at the docks?"

Kaidan placed his hand behind his head and scratched at it.

"Yeah," Kaidan nodded, "it's an Alliance ship composing of human and turian designs. Not a whole lot on either side are happy with the decision, but it has a prototype stealth system, is small, and is designed for recon and infiltration."

Jane raised her eyebrows.

"So what's it called?" she asked.

"She's the SSV _**Normandy**_ ," Kaidan chuckled, "it's just the name that gets me. Everything else seems fine, but there's something about 'Normandy' that feels like a bad omen."

"Really?" Saren's mandibles flexed into a grin, "how so?"

"It's mostly named after an old battle on Earth back around the mid-20th Century. It was a hollow victory, needless to say," Kaidan reminisced grimly.

Jane listened in on the conversation while she gazed out the window. She watched on as the fields of crops passed by while distantly listening to Kaidan cautiously disclosing what little information he could on the Normandy. For now, she returned to thinking over what could possibly be of Prothean origin within the findings on the colony.

"So what do you know about the Protheans?" Kaidan asked.

"Other than they suddenly went extinct almost fifty millennia ago? Nothing else than what they teach in the classrooms," Saren sighed, "I'm just a Spectre. If you wanted a professional opinion, there are plenty of experts on the matter."

"Gotcha," Kaidan drawled.

"Yeah, I'm just looking for answers as to what might've happened to them," the Spectre sighed.

A long while later, the tram left the fields of crops. The five came into view of the colony central hub, busy as ever. The doors opened up to let the three of them out to a truck that awaited their arrival.

"I'm guessing the tram can't reach the dig site," Jane said.

"The locals informed us the building was found near the edges of the colony and that they would wait for us before pulling anything out of there," Kaidan explained.

Without another word, the truck picked up speed down the colony road, winding around the prefabs. It was only a while before the truck started driving on rough terrain and the sensation of the vehicle wobbling about was enough for Jane to lean closer to Saren so she wouldn't fall over. Kaidan simply glanced out the side of his vision.

"So, I heard you were a veteran of First Contact," Kaidan pointed out.

"Yes, I was," Saren sighed.

"I understand if either side has very vocal opinions about the other. No mean to offend, but you yourself were a speaker against many of the Alliance's advances. If that was the case, why the sudden silence? Why go so far as to take up Ms. Shepard as a possible candidate?"

Saren felt a nervous tingle run down his spine. How was he going to explain his way out of this one?

"Well, time does heal all wounds," Saren reasoned, "some do take longer than others."

"Right," Kaidan replied stoically.

He glanced away from the two and simply watched the road ahead. It may have not been long, but the truck soon arrived near the dig site. All five quickly stepped out, as they found themselves in a flat clearing at the end of the road. Towards the far end where the Earth was still rough were four flat-bed trucks waiting with a crew of roughly a dozen diggers.

"Uh, how many more rides do we have to take again?" one of Kaidan's teammates asked.

"We don't know anything until we get in there," Kaidan answered as he finally eyed the solid steel structure, or what was left of it after time took its toll.

It was a surprisingly small building, just short of the average building size in town. Near the top was a sealed hatch, with its latches degraded further than most of the metal block. One would think a skilled tech could figure out a way to break through the latches. Popping the lid off with the help of a mobile construction vehicle, the men outside peered in anxiously with floodlights. What did it contain? Something the Protheans meant to pass on? Some evil that was never meant to see the light of day? One jumped in to see a row of olive-green pods, lined up in a row. The human in question made a hand signal that compelled Kaidan, Jane and Saren to step through the entrance.

"Do any of you recognize these? Any idea what they are?" he asked, peering into the pods.

Each one was empty, with the whole capsule open with nothing but dust inside. At the very end, the last pod was still sealed, with the lights on the side barely flickering.

"I'm not sure," Jane shrugged, "but we might find something interesting out of one of them."

Jane cautiously approached the sealed pod. Saren pulled out his omni-tool and put his hand over the container.

"Whatever's inside," Saren observed, "it's alive."

"Doesn't look like there's much else in here," Kaidan commented, looking at the corners of the small building, "okay, let's get this thing pulled out and taken back to port."

"Yeah, maybe if we're lucky," Jane nodded, "we could be sure whoever's inside is still ok."

"Or whatever's inside," Kaidan remarked.

The various mechanics nearby got to work cautiously welding the structure open, carefully tugging the roof off as to not crush whatever was inside. Once the roof piece was off, they began to dismantle the components keeping the pod intact to the floor. The pod itself was self-sustaining by the looks of design, and had enough power to last a bit longer until they could get it back to the Citadel. Now all they had to do was move the pod outside. Each of the five who came to Eden Prime watched as the pod was lifted back up like a reverse funeral. Put onto one of the flatbeds, they returned to the truck they arrived on to escort the pod back while construction workers began dismantling the rest of the pods so they could continue with paving for new prefabs.

Saren and Jane headed back for one of the trucks with Kaidan and his squad following suit. Their truck was right behind the flatbed that carried the pod, giving all of them a clear view. Some crew members took the time they had to fasten the pod to the flatbed so it wouldn't fall off. With the pod secure and covered by a tarp, the group drove off back to the spaceport. Once they arrived at the spaceport, Saren, Jane and Kaidan disembarked the truck while the crew members began to remove the pod from the flatbed.

"Since we'll be taking it back to the Citadel, I'll try to get your vessel temporary clearance to dock at the Spectre docks to unload the package," Saren told Kaidan as they exited the vehicle.

"You know," Kaidan mused, "I appreciate your offer, Arterius."

"Like I said, it's just temporary," Saren reminded, "we can't drag that thing through the public without getting swarmed by ranting hanar, so we're better off playing this safe."

Kaidan led his squad towards his ship while Saren and Jane made their way to their shuttle. Saren took a moment to pause and look as the container was hauled onto the Normandy's cargo hold before following Jane back inside. The turian Spectre settled into the pilot seat and turned on the ignition.

"I guess we're lucky this time," Jane commented.

"Yeah," Saren nodded, "now let's get out of here before trouble does arrive."

With that, the shuttle took off from the docks. Once they entered outer space, they watched as Eden Prime disappeared behind them and as the relay out of the system grew ahead of them. Saren steered the shuttle close to the relay before it sent them into warp speed.

"What do you think is in the pod?" he asked Jane.

Jane sighed as she tilted her head upwards.

"I could assume a person of any species is inside it," Jane replied, "who knows how long it had been in there?"

"It does have the proportions to be a stasis pod," Saren agreed.

A few hours later, the shuttle emerged from the Mass Relay in the Serpent Nebula. Saren leaned forward and activated coms with the flight control tower.

"Control, this is Spectre Arterius. We're escorting a non-Spectre vessel to harbor with a VIP on board. They'll need permission to dock at the Spectre hangers. They're identified as the SSV Normandy."

The voice on the other end crackled.

_{Of course, Spectre. We'll see it through.}_

Their shuttle hovered into the dock, followed by the familiar sound of the magnetic locks clamping onto the sides of the vehicle. About fifteen minutes later, the Normandy followed suit and docked a short ways farther down the docking platform. They waited for several minutes at the docks before Kaidan and his crew arrived with the pod in tow.

"Okay, where to, Arterius?" Kaidan asked, heading the crew behind him.

Saren carefully eyed the pod.

"If there is someone in there, the Spectre academy doesn't have the equipment to help someone who has been under for so long," Saren suggested, "Huerta isn't too far from here, let's take it there."

Saren gestured Jane and Kaidan to follow him out of the docks. It was close to the evening by the time they had returned to the station, meaning the streets weren't as crowded. Frankly, Saren didn't want to be answering questions all the way to Huerta about what he was doing and what was so special about the metal olive-green coffin. Fortunately, no one approached them to distract them with questions as they arrived at the Huerta Hospital several minutes later.

"Ah, hello Spectre Arter…" the accountant greeted before her attention was drawn to the container with them, "what's this?"

Saren made a brief glance at Jane and nodded at her, prompting her to take a step forward.

"Do you have a staff available to handle people in stasis?" Jane requested.

While the need for stasis pods had long since been phased out by the use of Prothean technologies to help improve their own, the hospital was well equipped to deal with comatose patients. Soon enough, Huerta made room on the first floor to hold the pod while professionals elsewhere on the station were called up to help pry open the container. While Saren and Jane stood outside the room, Kaidan and his crew waited in the lobby in case they needed some help. Almost a half-hour passed when a crew of technicians arrived to open the pod. It was critical that pods be opened carefully, as there had been cases where forcing the pod open or malfunctions had rendered the patient brain-dead as a result, or close to it if they were lucky. As a matter of precautions, they brought along specialized equipment.

Saren, Kaidan, and Jane watched as the mechanics cautiously worked with the controls on the side. Painstakingly, the four on the pod meticulously picked away like they were trying to defuse a bomb. Finally, the locks on the side of the pod audibly clicked open. The mechanics left to be replaced with medical staff ready to greet whoever was inside. Saren walked forward to pull open the doors to peer inside. His eyes soon met a strange being he never saw before. It was a green, insect-like, yet humanoid in crimson armor with golden trim that consisted of multiple layers. His head was somewhat triangular, culminating at the front of its head with slit nostrils and four eyes. Saren took a step back so the medical staff can carefully extract the being from the pod. They lifted the heavy soldier out of the pod as he began to stir. He started mumbling incoherently as his eyes flickered. Saren turned his head towards Jane and nodded at her, compelling her to approach him.

Laying him down on a medical bed, the man from the cryo pod began to physically thrash as he tried to shake himself awake. Startled, the medical staff moved in to restrain him. His eyes blinked open, unfocused and scanning the room through brief flashes. He began uttering some unintelligible language as he tumbled over the side of the bed.

"Sir, you need to calm down," one of the medical staff urged.

Saren shook his head in disbelief.

"He doesn't understand us," he grumbled as he opened up his omni-tool.

He quickly began to compose a message to Liara that she was needed back on the Citadel. Jane examined the strange ancient soldier while one of the staff left the room in search of a spare translator. He continued to stumble around as he climbed back into his feet, having been inactive for so long. He continued speaking his native tongue, now in an angrier tone as he looked at them. Jane thought fast and headed for the door, determined to keep him from wandering off. The soldier simply snarled at her before wandering to the window overlooking the Presidium. It stared outside, taking in everything it could see until its eyes could adjust for longer distances. Jane couldn't help but have a sneaky suspicion of what he might do next.

"Saren," she muttered, "you don't think he's…going to…"

He simply continued to stare. At first, it was only confusion. Suddenly, a pang of realization grew across his face. Finally, it was the painful reaction of distress brewed. Saren began to approach the being and reached his hand out to pull him away from the window. With surprising strength, the soldier lashed out with green energy, sending Saren flying against the wall.

"Saren!" Jane panicked.

Jane scurried over to Saren's side as he slowly sat up to recover from the blow while he had a sharp medical instrument impaled in his shoulder. Unfortunately, this gave the being a chance to escape the room. The soldier began to panic as he blindly ran out of the room looking for a way out. With a few medical staff sprinting after him while another reached over for the intercom. The two were left alone as the staff continued to pursue the stranger from the cryonic pod while the other member announced an emergency state through the intercom. They could only hope the ancient being does not hurt anyone else.


	20. Taking Marking Risks

With the ancient being on the loose, Jane couldn't do much for now, so she carefully examined the impaled object on Saren's shoulder.

"Shepard," Saren groaned, "don't worry about me. I'm not dying."

Jane shook her head in disbelief. The reassuring words did give her a speck of relief.

"We still need to get it out," Jane insisted.

Jane wasted no time as she lowered her collar until her left shoulder was exposed before she wrapped a piece of cloth around the base of the object.

"Ok," Jane offered while she gestured to her exposed shoulder, "you can bite down here while I take out the scalpel."

Much to Jane's confusion, Saren stared into her eyes with disbelief.

"Jane, you do realize that if I bite you like that," Saren warned her, "other turians will recognize that I've marked you, right?"

Jane felt a chill down her spine, but she didn't flinch. Why make a big deal out of these said consequences?

"I might as well take that risk if it means helping you in return," Jane replied.

Jane leaned her head closer to Saren's, gesturing him to lock his teeth onto her shoulder while she gripped the object carefully.

"'eadeh," Saren mumbled.

"Ok, one, two…" Jane announced.

Saren stiffened seconds before Jane yanked at the object. His jaws instinctively clamped down in an attempt to bite back any groans of pain, his teeth piercing Jane's skin. Still, Jane kept pulling at the scalpel while her mentor kept his mandibles in a tight grip on her shoulder, blood seeping out of her bite mark. Moments later, she managed to pull out the object, allowing Saren to release his grip on her shoulder. Not paying attention to her new wound, Jane set aside the scalpel.

"Are you ok?" Jane asked Saren.

Saren didn't say anything, but he nodded. Jane stood to her feet and fetched a pack of medi-gel from the cabinet.

"I'm more worried about you," Saren objected, "did that hurt badly?"

Jane shook her head while she slathered some medi-gel on Saren's shoulder.

"It was worth the pain," Jane shrugged.

He helped slather the gel on both of their injuries.

"Still," Saren continued, "you do realize other turians will smell me much more prominently on you now, right?"

Jane responded by helping Saren to his feet.

"We'll figure out something," Jane reassured Saren, readjusting her collar, "for now, we still have an ancient being on the loose."

The two quickly rushed out of the hospital to find the ancient soldier hadn't managed to get too far out of the hospital before numerous C-Sec troops had been called onto his position, keeping him boxed-in with riot shields and stun batons. They struggled to fight against the soldier's strong biotics, but the soldier's condition caused his undoing. Slowly reacting, he was unable to stop the overwhelming number of jabs and blows. Finally, one C-Sec officer hit him at an angle and forced him to the ground. Rushing forward, the medical personnel quickly sedated him before he could get back up.

"All right, he's down!" he announced.

C-Sec got to work clearing anyone who stopped to watch while the medical personnel came to take the ancient soldier back to Huerta and keep him sedated until Liara arrived. Once the asari doctor stepped through the door, Saren and Jane waited in the room to greet her.

"So, just what exactly did you two find?" Liara asked.

Saren just gestured to the medical bed next to him.

"You tell us, Dr. T'Soni. It's nothing we've ever seen before."

Liara walked up and only took a single look, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Is that…?" she asked, "how did you find one?"

"We found him in Eden Prime earlier today," Saren explained, "after we freed him, he started to panic and try to escape."

"But where? A stasis pod? From what little preserved DNA I've seen in the field…" Liara trailed off as she scanned the unconscious man with her omni-tool.

She continued to analyze him with a face like a child's on Christmas Day.

"I can't believe this. I could only hope to dream of something like this."

Jane and Saren exchanged confused glances for a moment until Liara turned her head towards them.

"I never thought I'd see a living Prothean," Liara continued.

Saren's eyes lit up.

"A Prothean?" he repeated, "that's a Prothean?"

"Yes, he is," Liara answered, straightening up, "I can help quickly set up his translator and patch an update to other translators quickly, but it'll take me a couple of days."

Saren and Jane let out a sigh of relief.

"Ok then," Jane offered, "we'll keep in touch."

* * *

The days passed as Liara continued to work at Huerta. The Prothean was kept sedated until she was finished with translating. She had spent an extensive amount of time studying a couple of damaged Prothean VIs, and was able to analyze their language through their speech patterns. Once in a while, she would notify Saren and Jane on her progress. By the time she finished, she called them over to the Huerta Hospital. Saren and Jane left the apartment and made their way through the Presidium on the way to the hospital. The most notable change going back into Huerta was the increased C-Sec presence, there to make sure no one broke in to access the Prothean and that the Prothean didn't break out before they had a proper opportunity to talk to it. Saren and Jane stepped through the corridor and stopped in front of a C-Sec officer guarding the room that held the Prothean.

Liara turned away from the still sedated Prothean for a moment to greet them.

"Arterius, Shepard, it's good to see you've arrived," Liara said.

The C-Sec officer glanced at Liara for a split second before he nodded at Saren and Jane, allowing them to step into the room.

"I assume you've installed the translator?" the Spectre asked.

"I have. He's been off of the drug for several hours now. He should wake up any minute. For now, allow me to do the talking. I might be more able to explain things to him," she answered.

"All right, then," Jane nodded, "we'll leave it to you."

Saren and Jane found some seats and waited until the Prothean opened his eyes several minutes later.

"What the hell…?" he groaned as he leaned up in his bed.

Liara held out her hand in front of the Prothean in an attempt to calm him.

"What do you want, primitive?" he spat.

"In case you haven't noticed, you've been under for much longer than scheduled," Liara snapped, "the least you could do is give me the opportunity to explain what has happened since you've entered cryo."

This didn't help improve the Prothean's attitude whatsoever.

"You can start by explaining what the hell happened to the Citadel," he demanded, "in the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you'd give my armor back so that I may report back to my unit for redeployment."

Liara gave the Prothean a confused stare.

"Perhaps it'd be easier going forward if I just broke it to you," Liara hissed in an uncharacteristically hostile tone, "fifty-thousand galactic cycles ago, what we know as the Prothean Empire vanished without a trace. No record of their fate, what lead to the fall, or where they could've gone to remains. There's no unit waiting for you, there's none of your kind left."

He stuttered before he continued.

"Fifty thousand?" the Prothean repeated with abject horror, "th-they said I'd only be under for a year…how did it happen?"

Liara let out a pained sigh.

"You could start by telling us how you ended up in the pod and avoided whatever event caused the downfall of your race."

"It was a stasis pod project meant to help artificially extend the lives of our best soldiers and smartest individuals, keep them safely stored for when they would be needed. I was at one of the many sites when the program started. They told me that I would be unconscious for only a year, and would be pulled back out afterwards when the trial run was finished to diagnose any negative side effects," the Prothean explained.

Liara nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright, I can understand if we got off on the wrong foot. What's your name?" Liara asked.

"Captain Javik, Fifth Regiment of the Imperial Marine Corps."

"Javik," Liara repeated to herself.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Javik glanced at Saren.

"Could you also explain to me what species currently preside over this galaxy?" Javik insisted.

Javik distinctly remembered asari back before his cryo-sleep, but everything else seemed bigger or misshapen now. For example, that which Liara referred to as 'hanar' were merely tadpoles in various lakes when the Empire was at its peak.

"Currently," Liara began, gesturing to Saren and Jane, "we have turians and humans, like these two in the room."

She continued with a brief explanation about the two races' recent history and their current roles in society.

"I don't remember seeing anything like the humans, but I do remember the turians," Javik commented, "they were rather aggressive beasts, traveled in packs, and would attack by drawing the attention of their prey to allow others from the pack to flank them."

Saren responded by giving Javik a hawklike stare. Liara pulled out her omni-tool and pulled up images of a salarian, a krogan, and a quarian, all of which seemed to rile up Javik.

"So basically, everything I recognize as non-sentient has either figured out how to stand upright or is now bigger?" Javik clarified.

"Yes," Liara nodded.

With that in mind, Javik calmly slipped off the side of his bed.

"I think I'll wing the rest. In the meantime, where is my armor and what do you primitives have as sustenance?"

Liara couldn't help but smile at him.

"Would you like me to show you?" she offered.

Saren was still taken aback as Liara helped Javik into his armor before leaving the room.

"Asshat," he muttered.

Jane gave Saren a soft glance.

"You seem to be getting tense," Jane pointed out.

"Yeah. All that buildup with no answer to the questions I had in mind," he grumbled.

"What questions?" Jane paused in confusion.

"Mostly what happened to their empire. I did have a few others about their culture, but it sure as hell doesn't seem like we're getting any answers out of him now. Let's go," the two quickly left the hospital without another word to the staff.

With no missions scheduled, Saren and Jane took a stroll in the Presidium. They were planning on having lunch on the Presidium when they had soon caught up with Javik and Liara outside of the Spectre Academy. Whatever Liara had been informing him, they were now caught up in an extensive conversation with Nihlus. Their presence was enough to catch the younger turian Spectre's attention.

"Hey, Saren! Check this guy out!" Nihlus chuckled.

"I already know he's a Prothean and I'm already wishing we'd just left him in his pod," Saren grumbled.

Javik gave a stoic stare while he folded his arms.

"I never asked to be alive either, you lizard," Javik spat.

Saren and Javik exchanged stink eyes while the older Spectre and his apprentice sat down.

"So where'd you dig this fossil up from?" Nihlus asked.

"We found him on Eden Prime," Saren explained while he stroked his mandible with his talon.

"We should be on our way," Liara interrupted, "I'm still trying to help Javik become accustomed to life as it is now."

"Of course," Saren sighed, "you take care."

The three watched as the Prothean and the asari doctor disappeared into the crowd. Suddenly, Nihlus began to sniff the air before glancing at Saren and Jane. He raised his browplate seconds later.

"Is that what I think it is?" Nihlus hummed.

Confused, Jane glanced around the area but couldn't find anything interesting. Saren gave Nihlus a hawklike gaze seconds later.

"Nihlus, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't draw attention to it," Saren hissed.

"Oh, do you prefer to take this somewhere else?" Nihlus cooed playfully, "ok, that's understandable."

"Yes, I would," Saren growled.

They found a private spot to talk away from the crowds of people before the elder Spectre scowled.

"Nihlus, I'd appreciate it if you didn't flaunt gossip so openly," he insisted.

Nihlus scratched his mandible.

"What? I just find it hilariously ironic, not that it's some form of public disgrace or taboo," Nihlus blurted.

"I-Ironic?" Jane paused while she tilted her head.

"Jane, I'm not sure if you're aware," Nihlus clarified, "but Saren just so happens to be from the generation who attended Relay 314…or First Contact as you would call it…and hates humans with a burning passion. Yet here he is with your smell all over him and his smell all over you."

Jane raised her eyebrows when a particular memory popped back into mind.

"If anyone asks," Jane suggested, "I let him bite me to pull a scalpel out of his shoulder after Javik panicked."

Jane made a brief glance at Saren.

"Are you…ok with this?" Jane asked.

Saren closed his eyes and deeply inhaled before looking back to Nihlus.

"Fine," Saren admitted, "I love Jane, and I'm not afraid of showing it."

Mandibles flexing into a grin and folding his arms, Nihlus softly closed his eyes.

"I knew it," he mused.

"I get that tensions are still rather high between humans and turians, but if it's anything Jane has helped me to understand is that we cannot hold onto these hostilities forever," Saren responded as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "however, I'd appreciate this if word didn't get too far. At least give people time to move on before they're allowed to cast judgment."

Nihlus unfolded his arms and nodded at Saren.

"Come on, you statue. When will you properly learn to come out of your shell every now and then? Anyways, I'll leave you two lovebirds be. I've got things to do yet," Nihlus bid farewell before striding away.

Sighing, Saren led Jane out of the area and into the Presidium. The two continued to a restaurant and found a seat. Saren sat and remained mostly silent. In the meantime, Jane read through the menu. He couldn't help but glance around nervously, paranoid that every passing glance the two received would be one of crushing judgment. In an attempt to soothe him, Jane gently grasped his hand. He briefly snapped his vision over before slowly trying to calm back down.

"Sorry, I was feeling a bit distracted," he muttered.

"Hey, take it easy," Jane reassured him, "we'll be fine."

He sighed.

"I know," he whispered, "interspecies relationships are not a new concept. However, with humans and especially turians…I can't exactly expect others to pass judgment so favorably as Nihlus had."

"If it makes you feel any better," Jane added, "I don't see it as much of a big deal."

"Thanks. I just don't want to feel isolated or ostracized," he replied softly.

"I know how you feel," Jane agreed.

A while later, Saren and Jane decided on what they wanted to order for lunch.

"So once training is done and you are hopefully inducted into the Spectres, what then?" Saren asked, "what do you see happening to us?"

Jane took a moment to think over the question. Come to think of it, she never thought of whether she wanted to get married at some point in her life. And from what she could gather, this ritual of turians marking their mates appeared more intense than marriage.

"Do we have to part ways? Even if we weren't to take our relationship to the next level, I'd still want to be with you," she answered.

Saren responded by giving her a soft smile.

"That's at least all I could ask for," Saren nodded.

Minutes later, the waitress arrived with their lunch orders. She paused before she gave the two their respective meals.

"Am I…interrupting something?"

Jane snapped out of her thoughts and turned her head towards the waitress.

"No, you're fine," she blurted.

The two ceased their conversation as they ate in silence. In fact, a delicious meal was enough for them to take their mind of such a deal. Feeling much better about the ordeal, Saren proposed as he payed the check.

"I have an idea," Saren asked, "you interested in watching a vid? I'm sure there's something good at the local theater."

Jane smiled as she nodded.

"Kelly told me about this Wonder Woman movie she watched with Garrus more than a week ago," Jane mentioned.

"What's that about?" Saren asked.

Jane couldn't help but scratch her head.

"I hear it's based on a comic book character," Jane replied, "but I haven't delved too much into comics."

The two traveled to a theater in the wards that replayed various vids from long ago and from various species. Saren took a few seconds as he looked at the poster and the amount of exposed soft tissue the titular character's armor left unprotected.

"Humans do have a strange sense of design for their fictional characters," he commented.

Jane couldn't help but scratch her head while she observed the poster.

"If it's a good flick, great," Jane said, "if it's dull, it at least is something to laugh at. Still interested?"

He shrugged.

"Let's see what it's like. I don't mind."

Taking his hand into her own, Jane led Saren into the theater. Going in, he hadn't seen enough human vids to set any sort of expectations. For the duration of the movie, Saren couldn't help but feel mesmerized by the scenery on the screen as well as the action. To add icing to the cake, the titular character had such a meaningful impact through her active involvement in the plot, which was pretty good to anyone's standards. While unlikely, he did greatly enjoy the contrast between the titular character's culture and what Jane described as the cultural norm on Earth centuries prior during what had been originally dubbed "The Great War" and "The War to End All Wars". In retrospect, the conflict did little else than spark the chain of conflicts throughout the rest of the century and show the nations at the time the harsh realities increasing technologies wrought upon their own species as the war took lives of soldier and civilian alike. This reminded him of the battles he fought during his experience in the turian military. Despite the dark undertones of the film overall, they walked out of the theater feeling the movie was an excellent experience.

"So," Saren purred, "what else do you have in mind?"

"A night stride perhaps? We can afford to be a bit more open about our relationship, can't we?" Jane proposed.


	21. Seeking Long Forgotten Answers

From what they could gather, Javik had been struggling to adapt to the current timeline over the course of a few days. His state of denial continued, and he was borderline suicidal. This didn't help that he had yet to open up to anyone, so Liara constantly monitored him in an effort to keep him from seeking out methods to end his own life. She had to be especially careful out in public areas where he made long glances at the weapons C-Sec officers bore or would peer over railings for far longer than he should. Finding mental help was an option, except none of the psychiatrists on the station have any expertise on dealing with Protheans.

That morning, Javik offered to carry something heavy only to use it in an attempt to drown himself in a fountain, weighing himself down so that all the air would escape his lungs, leaving him to a watery death. While he didn't reveal such an intention, Liara still gave him a suspicious stare. Initially, he acted calm when he lifted the crate. He waddled around a bit, but cautiously kept his eye on the nearby fountain. He edged closer and closer as he continued to walk along. When he was finally within reaching distance, he leaned over just too far and allowed the weight of the box to throw him in, catching him underneath, with the box weighing down on his chest. While Javik assumed he would soon be out of his misery, he suddenly felt a biotic field envelop him…almost like there was a cable connected to his chestplate. He was sharply yanked up out of the water with the box left in the fountain. With his limbs and head left dangling, he coughed and sputtered for a few seconds longer until his gaze landed on a very annoyed Liara.

"This is," Liara spat, almost on the verge of panicking, "this is the ninth time I've had to save your life, Javik!"

"Is there something you have against letting me join my kind in death?" he angrily choked.

Liara slowly lowered Javik onto the pavement in front of her.

"Is there something you have against living on as your race's legacy?" she returned.

Javik and Liara exchanged confused glances in a moment of silence. After a brief pause, she reached a hand to help him up. Javik stared in disbelief, yet he accepted her hand and she hoisted him to his feet.

"Try that again, and I'll have a holo-collar around your neck," she sighed.

Javik lowered his head slightly.

"Yes, ma'am," he muttered.

They continued to walk along when Liara's omni-tool received a ping from Jane:

_{We just exited the relay and will be docking shortly. Has Javik's state improved?}_

The two had left for another mission two days before and were subsequently absent for Javik's more recent antics.

_{Hardly. He just tried to drown himself.}_

Just then, Javik shook water droplets off of him before Jane responded a minute later:

_{Do you want to meet us at the docks?}_

After reading the message, Liara responded with another text:

_{Gladly. I'll be there by the time you leave your ship.}_

Liara led Javik away like he was a convict to the Spectre docks. They waited on the sideline until Saren's shuttle arrived several minutes later. Saren stepped out first, glaring at Javik with daggers.

"I don't like you either," Saren hissed, "but the least you could do is act more favorably towards the people who are trying to help you."

Irritated, Javik folded his arms.

"Do I somehow owe you because you dug me out, primitive?" he snarled.

Jane emerged from the shuttle a moment later.

"Perhaps we've gotten off on the wrong foot," Jane pointed out, "bashing each other over the head like this won't help anyone."

Javik shifted his attention towards Jane. He was all but confused by her calm stance.

"I doubt you could exacerbate the situation."

Jane slowly approached Javik, her expression carrying softness rather than anger.

"Do you…miss your people?" she asked.

"Why don't you put yourself in my shoes? You wake up to find everything you've known and loved is long gone. Feeling suicidal yet?" Javik grumbled.

Jane closed her eyes while she thought over the question in a moment of silence.

"I get the feeling," Jane said, "as a kid, I didn't have much going for me besides my mom. I was born into a brothel, barely getting by. I went to school while my mom stayed at home, tending to some uncouth customers. I was eight when I walked home to find her dead in a pool of her own blood. For the next eleven years, I had nothing and no one. Every encounter was a race to stay alive. Every scrap I could get my hands on was another day alive."

Jane opened her eyes, softness in her expression. Javik refused to make eye contact for a moment.

"So how did you persist?" he asked.

"I would do whatever it took to live another day," Jane continued, "even if some of the decisions involved were rather poor."

Javik's eyes continued to wander, before coming to a stop at her feet.

"What are you suggesting that I do?" Javik asked.

Jane reached her hand out and cupped the Prothean's cheek with it, much to his confusion.

"I know you're going through a rough time," Jane reassured, "but it's going to be ok."

Javik lightly brushed her hand aside.

"I expected a more in-depth answer," Javik replied, "but I still appreciate the encouragement."

Jane gave Javik a soft smile upon hearing those words.

"Perhaps I could help you find closure in the matter?" Liara offered, "find what eventually happened to your empire?"

Javik sighed before he nodded.

"I suppose," he replied.

Liara traveled back to her ship where she kept her files and records on what she had found with Javik by her side. She had been planning her next mission out when she had been given the responsibility of watching over the Prothean until he could learn to properly behave. Before the beginning of her mission, she and Javik began reading through the files. She hadn't found anything concrete, but she made room on her team so Javik could follow along and provide professional help. When she first introduced Javik to her team, they gave him puzzled stares. He was himself a relic of the forgotten Prothean Empire. Preserved, intact, and capable of reciting with greater detail more parts of Prothean society than any VI could ever hope to retain. Merely nodding at them, Javik searched for a seat in the ship.

Jane and Saren watched as her ship left the docks before turning back to themselves. As they left the Citadel dock and began to make for the Mass Relay, Javik looked out the starboard windows to look at the assorted fleets hovering around the enormous station. So much has changed since the fall of the Prothean Empire. He felt a brief wave of nostalgia waver over him as the ship approached the relay and was hurled out of the system. Watching as the stars and various unidentified systems flew by them, Javik continued to watch outside of the system.

Hours later, Liara's crew arrived at their destination. Javik returned to the window to watch as the vessel exited the Mass Relay. Liara approached him from behind.

"We're heading to a human colony," she told him, "it's currently located in the remains of a Prothean city. I thought I'd let you know."

Javik made a brief glance at Liara and nodded. The two walked to the cockpit to watch the final landing as the ship came into dock at the human colony. Javik watched as their ship to a particularly cloudy planet with bits of foliage peaking from far below. It didn't take much long before the crew shut off the engine and disembarked the ship with Liara and Javik emerging from the ramp first.

"I know this city," Javik started, "in my time, the planet's climate was much colder. It's strange to see it after all this time."

"It probably changed over the course of fifty thousand years," Liara observed.

Javik further noted how the elements had taken their toll on the infrastructure as a whole. Greenery now sprouted out of the cracks, bridges, stairs, and walkways had long since collapsed, and artistic details had eroded away. The motto of the Prothean Empire had always been "To last one hundred thousand years". Ironic to think they only lasted almost one fifth that goal last time he checked. Javik gazed closely at the infrastructure for a moment before he followed Liara and her crew through the abandoned city. They walked into an opening filled with various prefabs in the center of what Javik knew to be a large forum long ago. Two colonists, one in armor and one in civies, walked up to greet them.

"Dr. T'Soni, I'm glad to see you made it."

Liara nodded before she took a step closer to the colonists.

"Thank you," Liara said, "I assume you've partially visited the surrounding structures by now?"

"Yes," one of the colonists answered.

"We hadn't gotten far though," another colonist added, "only enough to utilize what's left of the city's electric grid and aqueducts to fuel the colony."

Liara led Javik and her crew farther through the ruins. They walked up through what was left of the nearby buildings and up a tower to be greeted by the remains of a highway, extending out to some of the other towers in the distance.

"Many of the structures out there haven't even been touched yet. I've received a request from a pharmaceutical company to set up base in one of them, but I haven't made up my mind about it."

While Javik listened, he examined each of the buildings in the area.

"We'll get started in the first tower down the road," Liara decided, "do you have any transportation?"

"Yeah, we'll lend you one of our Makos to help you get on the road," the colony leader answered.

Of course, the colony leader gestured to the Makos not far from where they were standing. For the next hour, Liara's team had been transporting equipment to the site as well as marking locations to set up the prefabs to set up camp in. Javik gave a helping hand in setting up the equipment they were using.

"What were these towers like?" Liara asked, watching as the prefabs set in place outside.

"This planet was once frozen over with ice. Each tower was designed to be self-sufficient under the circumstances one of the storms came down harder than usual with their own emergency generator, food storage, and water recycling plants," Javik answered, "each one felt like its own city, with the tight corridors and people around every turn."

"Is that so?" Liara mused, pinching her chin, "interesting."

"On a yearly average, an 'extreme weather' event would occur on average once a month," he added, "outside of watching freshly mined ores roll in, there wasn't much to do here."

A while later, the crew finished setting up camp. Liara pulled out a small probe and handed it to Javik.

"First thing before we do anything else is to map out the area," Liara told Javik, "want to come along? We would undoubtedly need your help."

Javik examined the probe for a moment.

"I'll be glad to help you, T'Soni," Javik nodded.

A small team with Javik and Liara started off to begin mapping the tower, traveling down to the top levels before making their way down, taking care to record notable landmarks in the area. Javik remembered the various places he had walked about and the various places he couldn't go due to the exclusive access mechanics received. This knowledge allowed him to guide the crew farther. They entered what was left of the tower's localized generator. The materials had long-since oxidized and was worn down over time. Javik sighed at the thought that came from his observation.

"This was one of the many parts only engineers had access to," Javik observed.

One of the crew members approached the worn down generator.

"Think we could get these up and running again? It would be helpful for the camp?" Liara asked.

The crew member haphazardly yanked off a panel and peered inside with a flood light.

"It's old, but I've managed to get some ancient Prothean machinery working again. By the looks of things, all the vital parts are still here, but it will take time."

Raising an eyebrow, Javik nodded in approval.

"We'll need it for the full exploration of this tower," he suggested.

Javik approached the generator and began helping the crew member with it. Explaining what little he knew, some of the engineer crew remained while Javik, Liara, and the others continued on. Deeper inside, they had found the aqueducts the colonists had mentioned earlier from their own position in the Prothean city. From what they could gather, it seemed these aqueducts haven't been used in a long time as water wasn't running through them. Gradually making their way to the top of the tower, they found themselves peering into the clouds around them, seeing the towers stretch on for miles. While they rested for a moment, Liara took in the mesmerizing scenery through her eyes.

"What a marvelous view," she said, barely audible over the fluctuating winds.

For once in the past fifty-thousand years of his absence, Javik couldn't help but smile.

"There were plenty of times I would take shifts up here," he mused, "watching the night roll in while banter would occur between comrades. Not much happened, but those were still good times."

Once this portion of their expedition came to a close for the day, Liara, Javik and her crew returned to the campsite. There, Javik helped set up defense mechanisms at the vehicular entrances to deter any potential threats.

"So…Javik, right? Was there anything you had to shoot out here? Seems pretty dead for a planet," one of the workers asked.

"Probably not," Javik chuckled, "with the exception of the rachni on a few occasions. Other than that, it was just there for general safety purposes."

"Ehh," one of the colonists mumbled, "haven't seen a rachni as of late."

"They were quite the threat. Has this cycle encountered the rachni?"

Many of the crew members shook their heads.

"Well, at least this cycle is lucky," he hummed before returning to work.

It didn't take much longer before the defense mechanism was completed. With the cover the tower provided, the crew simply set up barriers at the entrances, portable cover inside, and a few turrets on the roof. From there, they earned a chance to observe the fine details of the ruins. Javik led the team to the former living quarters to start from. Amidst the dust and rubble, they found the remains of a few terminals, undoubtedly chock full of journal logs. Amidst these files, Javik took interest in those related to the last years of the Prothean Empire, so he opened the files and started to read them.

It was the journal of some unnamed guard who had been posted at the city for roughly half a year. The logs started when the lieutenant first arrived. For the first week, he mostly wrote about adapting to the planet's abysmal weather conditions. Considering how the planet's climate changed since then, Javik found the writer's feelings pretty reasonable. Life continued normally for the soldier, even up to the date he recognized as the month he was put into cryonic stasis. Everything seemed otherwise normal until the fourth month at the post, when the network began suffering unexplained outages. Data was lost, communications would be suddenly cut, and the relays would undergo more repairs more often. Strange, what kind of crisis would trigger these incidents? Over the next month, shipments never arrived, naval vessels showed up destroyed without having sent out a distress signal, whole fleets started investigating any sort of radio silence only to find nothing.

Having finished reading these files, Javik felt more determined to find out what caused the downfall of his species.

The situation continued to grow more and more desperate as resupply shipments never arrived and martial law was declared. Colonial vessels leaving the city rarely reported in concerning their safe arrival unless they were given an escort to ensure their safety. Suddenly, during the sixth month and last message recorded, whatever loomed in the shadows finally came crashing down on their city, tearing it and everyone who lived in the towers apart. The owner of the journal stayed behind to compose one more message in case others came to investigate, with a corrupted message attached. Remaining cautious, Javik opened the corrupted message. The image itself was disappointingly little more than uncoordinated pixels.

"What is it?" Liara asked over his shoulder.

"Can't tell; the image isn't forming. Think you could help?" Javik grumbled.

"I've done it a few times. The image usually is still fractured, but I can try," Liara agreed as Javik handed her the datapad.

Liara took some time to restructure the image. Javik sat idly by in the prefab that Liara worked in, looking out into the cloudy distance outside of the building as he waited for an answer. She managed to complete the job half an hour later.

"Javik, come take a look. I don't recognize this. Do you?" Liara asked with relative unease.

Javik stood to his feet and stepped closer to Liara, glancing over her shoulder.

"What _**is**_ …?" Javik gasped in shock.

It was nightmarish in size, and even more frightening in appearance. The creature was enormous, easily making up one fifth of the tower in length, and was composed of a rocky, sandy golden plates of armor covering its entire body. It resembled some sort of sea life, with 'tentacles' for legs and a body that resembled the side of a cliff deep below sea levels. Finally, there were two distinguishable sets of eyes on both sides of its head, shinning blue like crystal. In the background, it could see the gargantuan beasts attacking the other towers in the distance. These monstrous beings in the image sent terrified chills down the Prothean's spine.

"Javik?" Liara paused.

The Prothean Empire that Javik knew was at its peak. The rachni were a threat, but were soon dealt quickly enough with their own well supplied, well designed fleet. With particle weaponry, the best series of armor throughout the entire history of his species was available, and an awesome fleet with the greatest minds to direct its valiant soldiers to victory, their empire was practically invincible. Yet here they were, in ruins at the hands of some unspoken horror that had crawled from beyond the horizon of the galaxy into their lives while he was trapped in an eternal slumber.

"T'Soni," Javik asked, "do you know if there are remains of such…beings?"

"No," Liara shook her head, "there's been no record of such…I don't even know what those are supposed to be."

Javik couldn't help but sigh in disbelief. For once, he finally found a clue to what happened fifty-thousand years ago. He continued to stare at the screen longer, staring into the blue eyes as if they were somehow affecting him through their digitized interpretation.

"I don't know what else you hoped to accomplish during this current expedition," Javik offered, "but I want to stay with your team until I find out what happened in the gritty end. If these things are still out there, I want to know if we are to stop them."


	22. A Leviathan's Remains

A couple of months have passed since Javik first reawakened from cryonic stasis. For the duration of that time, Saren and Jane kept up to date on more Prothean related findings while they set a reminder to notify Liara and Javik of any clues they found relating to this particular "Leviathan". They traveled from site to site, making it a high priority to find and begin deciphering any remaining logs and terminals that may give any information on what happened in the final hours of the Prothean Empire if they were to knowingly live on safely from the creatures from the void. One thing for certain was they found no indication that the cycle would repeat.

They traveled far for answers they both wanted by now since the revelation of the "Leviathans' existence". Eventually, their quest brought them to an isolated system at the edge of Terminus Space. Once they landed at the planet in question, Saren and Jane waited outside the shuttle for Liara and her crew to arrive. By now, Jane was a fully fledged Spectre, but the couple still worked together in most missions as partners. They waited for an hour after they arrived in the thick jungles of the planet called Ilos. Yet another Prothean city, it hadn't so much suffered from the Leviathans' destruction as it had the decay of time. There couldn't be other surviving Protheans on Ilos, could there? If anything, maybe the Protheans that remained there at the time could've evolved into something else.

Overhead, Liara's ship came in to land, having arranged the meeting location the day before. Saren and Jane headed over to greet them once the ship landed not far from their shuttle. Javik and Liara led the other members out as they greeted them.

"Arterius, Shepard, it is good to see you two," Liara said, "words can't express how grateful I am that you two could come along for this."

"This is as much a concern to us, Dr. T'Soni," Saren reassured.

"And I'm no longer surprised that not even my own species was aware of this discovery," Jane added.

Some of the crew from Liara's team backed out of their ship with APCs where the prefabs were stored.

"This was a large facility. I told her we would need proper transportation," Javik added.

Jane made a brief glance at the equipment.

"So what do you think we'll find?" Jane asked, gently pinching her chin.

"Hopefully? A conclusion of any sort," Liara answered, "whether or not they were defeated, I'm just hoping the Protheans managed something."

With some sort of objective in mind, Liara, Javik, Jane and Saren began their expedition through the jungle. Javik told them to set down not too far from the city in a more accessible location. It was only half a kilometer before they found the mossy city of Ilos, with most of its marble tiles and statues still intact. This made maneuvering around the city a little easier. They wove their way through the abandoned streets to a large wall leading into a significant R&D laboratory for the empire.

"Well, it doesn't look like we're getting through the front door," Saren grumbled.

Javik gestured to the nearby building.

"In there," he explained, "we can override the security mechanism and get in."

Nodding in agreement, Jane and Saren headed over to the building Javik mentioned. The city on Ilos wasn't nearly as destroyed as the other facilities Javik and Liara entered, but it was bad. Most of the electronics barely worked, and the elevator only took them down before they were forced to find another way out. Navigating this ancient city would be extra tricky for everyone. It didn't take long for them to find a tunnel into a large chamber with stairs on either side up to the next level. Saren, Jane, Liara and Javik led the crew up the flight of stairs. The second floor was a command center overlooking the area below with a terminal to the window. Javik instantly recognized the VI terminal and pressed a few buttons. The resulting projections was shaky and unrecognizable, but still formed the familiar hovering globe that was the VI's user interface.

"Pity. Not much remains here," Javik sighed.

Jane scanned their surroundings to find anything that would pique her interest. The VI simply repeated ancient recordings, yelling voices of the desperate Prothean personnel as they struggled to send out warning before the Leviathans struck.

"Javik," Jane asked, "do you understand what they're saying?"

"Just snippets. And by the looks of things, we aren't going to get much more than whispers. In the meantime, I'll open the gate back at the surface."

The terminal was just functional enough for him to gain access to the surface security. It took moments for Javik to configure the security before he succeeded in opening the gate.

"Right, now for a way back to the surface," Liara sighed.

Javik beckoned to the others.

"I know of another service elevator back outside," Javik replied, "I know that it'll be risky, but it's a faster climb than the stairs…if there are still stairs."

Jane nodded at Javik before the Prothean led everyone else out of the command center. The team walked on through to the other side of building, weaving around maintenance rooms, many of which had been kept seemingly untouched. While some of the crew members made a quick glance over these rooms, none of them found anything of interest. The others followed close behind Javik until they reached the end of the hallway. He tapped a pad to the left near a set of doors, followed by the quiet hum of the arriving elevator. Once the elevator door opened, they stepped inside. The ancient elevator slowly carried them back to the surface, opening back up to reveal a street not too far from where the gate was. They wasted no time as they stepped outside.

"Maybe we'll have better luck in another part of this city?" Jane pondered.

"I recognize this place, let's go," Saren suggested.

He recognized passing the area on the way to the gate, and decided to play leader for a bit. Walking around the jungle and eroded streets until they found the parked APCs in front of the now open gates. After checking whether the coast was clear, Saren, Jane, Liara and Javik led their crew through the gates. The inside tunnels were a bit more decorated than the rest of the city, with statues of ancient Prothean war heroes. The road had all but given way to the elements, leaving a gravely path for their vehicles. Jane didn't seem to mind that the vehicles wobbled while they drove over the rough terrain in the tunnels. Javik took a long look at the walls as they progressed deeper and deeper into the facility. The walls had been lined with the same pod he entered, with a network of bridges and lifts to access each one.

"What in hell was going on here?" he muttered to himself.

While the crew stopped the vehicles for a moment, Jane peered at one of the pods.

"Do you think this was meant to be a shelter?" Jane asked Saren.

"It'd make sense if they tried to implement the cryopod tech, though this was mere months after Javik went under," Saren agreed.

The crew continued their trek along the road. Down the long winding road, there was a large glowing, transparent wall that cut off their path half-way down the next corridor.

"This is strange. Something's not right," Javik commented.

Saren and Jane disembarked their vehicle before they stepped closer to the wall, using their omni-tools to scan its material. The door to their immediate right opened up when a synthesized voice crackled over the intercom before gradually becoming more refined.

_{-EryOUIOUncjgguiic welcome back, Captain Javik. It has been over fifty galactic cycles since your last inspection.}_

Saren raised a brow plate.

"How is the local intercom suddenly able to use our languages?" Saren asked.

_{Please take the elevator down to my core. I can show more when you arrive.}_

Saren and Jane exchanged glances before they gestured to the others to follow them. Javik, Liara and her crew disembarked the vehicles and followed the Spectres through the door. It was another elevator going down, away from the cryonic pods and vehicles above. The area below had walls of servers like a small library with the row in between both 'shelves' leading to a single projector down the center. It resembled the projected image from earlier that they saw from the facility at the gate.

"Virgil, I didn't think you would still be active," Javik started.

Javik stepped closer to the projector while Saren, Jane and Liara stood close behind.

 _{I was unaware you had survived, much less found an ability to outlive the normal lifespan,}_ Virgil returned, _{is there anything I can help you with?}_

"Yes," Javik nodded, "I'd like to know what became of my species during my absence."

 _{According to my records, you were labelled as on leave six months prior to the full invasion of beings which were commonly designated as 'The Mouth'. Leading up until their arrival, there were increasing rates of disappearances of merchant ships, planet-wide populations, and small fleets alike,}_ the VI recited.

Javik sighed as he folded his arms.

"Go on," he insisted, his hand gesturing his point.

_{During the fifth month of increasing activity, the Empire was able to piece together enough evidence to confirm the presence of the hostile forces. With entire flotillas, they began to actively hunt down and destroy each individual one when they arrived. The military leaders believed they had successfully dealt with the threat when they arrived en mass on the first week of the six month of your extended leave. Government and military structure alike began to tumble, and the Prothean population was dying off in the millions each day. Realizing the desperation of the situation, the remaining science divisions developed a method of utilizing the Citadel and Mass Relays as a means of creating a large enough energy pulse to destroy them once and for all.}_

Javik remained stoic upon hearing those words. Saren, Jane and Liara couldn't understand what he could be feeling right now.

_{The Citadel, and subsequently through the Mass Relays, would produce an energy pulse that would wipe them from the galaxy. While it would invariably deactivate the communications and transportation system for an unspecified amount of time, it was worth the price of leaving the thousands of remaining Protheans scattered throughout the Galaxy. Much of the remaining military had retreated to the Citadel to begin transporting civilians through a relay back-door onto Ilos, where the laboratories had been hastily equipped with the same cryopods you were recorded to have entered for a trial run. The plan was to have the several million on the Citadel at the time sleep through however long it would've taken for the Mass Relays to reignite before reconstructing the Prothean Empire. Unfortunately, the operation beginnings didn't go unnoticed, and they attacked en mass at the Citadel, decimating the fleet in a matter of minutes. Amidst the chaos, the Citadel was fired prematurely before anyone could begin to travel to the Ilos reservations, wiping out all life on and around the station. According to my simulations, there were roughly half a million Protheans, yourself included, still in existence by the time the invasion ended. Given you are the only one who has made any attempt to travel within the last fifty thousand cycles, my simulations suggest that the remaining populace were left isolated in pockets of the empire and their dwindling numbers couldn't be supported with the convenience the Mass Relays provided.}_

"I…see," Javik mumbled.

In Jane's mind, she could visualize Javik losing everything he once held dear while he was asleep the whole time, and the sadness that came with it.

Javik felt like every breath caused him to inhale a handful of ash. Each pained retraction of his diaphragm reminded him of each moment before and how he was the only one remaining of the Empire who could draw a breath.

"That's it? They all quietly faded into the night? No one but myself?" he asked.

Virgil stayed silent for a few more deadly seconds.

_{From the current analysis of where new civilization has cultivated across the galaxy, the chances of finding another Prothean are incredibly low.}_

Lowering his head, Javik placed his hand on the projector.

"And this miniature Mass Relay?" the Prothean asked.

 _{Towards the end of this facility. In the weeks before the final encounter seven months after you entered cryostasis, they installed a scaled down version of the Mass Relay, leading onto the central ring of the station. It is currently inactive, but will still function,}_ the VI answered.

"Thank you, Virgil. Log me out."

Javik turned and walked with the others back to the elevator. They didn't say anything until the elevator door closed and started its ascent.

"Well…now what?" Saren was the first to speak.

"Maybe the Mass Relay Virgil mentioned could be the last piece of the puzzle," Jane shrugged.

The elevator arrived back at the top, showing that the barrier was down, leaving the rest of the path open. Saren, Jane, Liara, Javik and their crew boarded their vehicles and continued driving down the path. The path was otherwise straight, continuing into a small opening in the back. At the foot of a large, concrete platform was the distinct profile of a Mass Relay the size of a large statue.

"Wait, I recognize that statue anywhere," Saren commented, "it's the same statue that's on the Presidium."

Jane instantly recalled a moment where she did catch a glimpse of the statue at the Presidium. They parked on the platform and disembarked once more to gain a closer look at the statue. Saren recognized the texture, as he would occasionally put a palm against the statue on the Presidium as he would catch his breath during jogs.

"You don't happen to know if this still works, do you Javik?" he inquired nervously.

"Perhaps…perhaps…" Javik mumbled.

Javik reached out to wipe dust off a small projector on the ground before it produced the outline of the control interface. He got to work exploring the keys and dials, looking to possibly activate the statue, though not entirely confident enough to test whether they could survive the trip back. With another few presses, he watched as the relay came to life, with its inner rings spinning with life and a beam of blue light forming from the heart of the statue before reaching out into the sky and beyond. While she gazed at this particular event, millions of thoughts flooded into Jane's head. It was a fool's errand. They hoped to mass-evacuate through a small relay when the Leviathans were actively hunting them down. The Citadel could already hold several billion from all species on the station, and it would take weeks, if not a couple of months to evacuate everyone. If this beam happened to reach the Citadel, how would everyone on the station react? How would Saren have to explain it to the Council? Most importantly, they couldn't have evacuated a few while they could? They had a few cryonic pods in the facility. Couldn't they have preserved enough? With their advanced tech, surely they couldn't artificially inflate their population numbers.

Either way, Liara found a chance to study this activated statue before them.

"They at least defeated them. Right?" Saren asked, standing next to Javik as they both continued to gaze at the beam.

Javik didn't say anything, but he nodded. Even if he was now officially alone, the answer was all he needed. For all they knew, they were still out there, having only sent an attachment to enslave or destroy the population. What mattered was the Empire had defeated them. Even as long as one soldier still stood on the battlefield, an uneasy victory was a victory nonetheless. For the others, they could imagine the possibilities of history books in the making for the Prothean legacy. It was a grim and dreadful ending to the ancient tale, but it was a definite conclusion to a story that an author suddenly walked away from for an indefinite hiatus, never to pick up the pen and finish what he started. It was an ending that Javik was surprisingly proud of, and one he almost regretted not witnessing, seeing the Leviathan beasts disintegrate into their basic molecular components. At the same time, he was proud to live long enough to see the spoils of their massive sacrifice.

With their mission accomplished, they could now start preparing to leave. After they shut off the conduit, Javik looked all around them at the passing cryonic pods, visually paying his respects before mentally bidding one last farewell. He watched as the library of would be Protheans disappear behind them as they drove back into the city at its feet.

"Was it what you expected?" Liara asked, glancing over from her seat in the vehicle.

"No, it's better. At least it wasn't for nothing," Javik answered, giving a half-smile back at her.

Liara plucked a beacon from a box and started configuring the settings on the panel.

"We'll come by here at a later date, start fully documenting the city. Will that make you uncomfortable?" Liara offered.

"No, I can handle it," Javik answered.

Part of him felt at ease, so he relaxed for the duration of the drive out of the city. Driving back to where they landed, the various personnel who came along with them began to stash the vehicles back in Liara's transport, while she and Javik walked over to Saren and Jane before they departed.

"Thank you two again. I know there wasn't much to encounter on the way here, but I at least appreciate the help in my search for answers," Javik told the two Spectres.

"I was just as curious as you were," Saren returned with a light nod, "so, what'll you two be doing next?"

"I've found my place among her crew," the Prothean gestured back at their ship.

Jane gave Javik a soft smile.

"I guess I'm glad you're happy," she said.

After Liara planted the coordinates beacon, both parties departed from the planet in their respective vessels. For the time being, they left the miniature relay on Ilos inactive to continue study back at the Citadel. Meanwhile, Saren quickly composed a report to the Council detailing what they had discovered in the ancient Prothean city. What became of the great Empire would make an important footnote in the knowledge they did have.


	23. A Little Induction to be Made

While their findings on Ilos were quite satisfactory…especially for Javik, Jane knew that today was the day she would make her Spectre induction in front of the Council. With the findings on Ilos making the news feeds across the Citadel, Jane examined the uniform she had been provided for the occasion. It was a deep crimson dress with enough on the shoulders to cover up Saren's bite. He quickly found a dress shop for asari and bought something that was simple but elegant. After a moment, Jane slipped into the dress and headed for the shoe rack to slip on a pair of low-heeled shoes. Saren's scent had subsided enough by now for him to feel confident that no one would suspect anything.

By the time she finished getting dressed, she stepped out of her room and met up with Saren at the front door. They exchanged reassuring glances before they pressed their foreheads together. Minutes later, they left the apartment.

After a fifteen minute walk, they walked to the elevator onto the Citadel tower and rode up for the ceremonial event. The two were surprised to see Councilor Sparatus waiting for them just outside of the elevator at the top of the tower.

"Councilor, I didn't expect to see you this long before the start of the ceremony," Saren greeted.

Sparatus cleared his throat.

"Neither did I," Sparatus replied, "however, due to a few matters that have caught my attention, I wanted to discuss something I want both of you to maintain some discretion about."

Saren shifted into a defensive position, crossing his arms.

"I understand that the activation of the Mass Relay on the Presidium was a big scare for everyone nearby at the time," Saren objected, "however, I do feel it was an important discovery."

"The relay opening is not what I had in mind. I have my eyes on the more glaring issue of the connection between the two of you," Jane followed Sparatus' gaze to her shoulders as he continued, "it's not as persistent right now, but I can still see traces of you on her."

Jane gave Sparatus a blank stare.

"Wait, do you mean…?" she paused.

The Councilor groaned.

"What, did Saren not explain to you turian biology at any point during your stay in his household?" Sparatus reminded, "males mark females with a distinct scent. Lets the others know that, and as humans say it, 'She's not available'."

Jane slowly nodded, not showing any signs of flinching.

"I'm already aware of that," Jane reassured, "and…I trust him well enough for what you're bringing up."

"Well then, the least you could do about this little office-place romance is to keep it quiet. Not all wounds from the First Contact War have healed yet. Anyways, I still have a few final preparations to make," Sparatus strolled away, leaving them absolutely silent.

For a moment, Saren and Jane exchanged glances.

"That went…swimmingly," Saren sighed.

"And another close call," Jane added.

"Still, if he knows, it'll have to come out eventually."

With minutes dwindling before the ceremony, Saren cupped Jane's face with his hand to pass the time, letting her lean into the touch and no one around to disturb them. That is until…

"Hey, Jane! Saren! Ready for the big day?" unexpectedly, Nihlus approached the two in less than formal wear with his renown idiotic grin.

Jane and Saren snapped out of their thoughts before they turned their attention towards Nihlus.

"Nihlus, I'd appreciate it if you didn't draw more attention to that than was necessary," Saren sighed.

He couldn't exert any more energy towards being angry with the younger turian.

"No no no no no, you've gotten it all wrong, Saren. This is exactly what we need. You know as much as I do that both sides are still pissing on each other over that war which, mind you, is over two decades old by now. People need to learn to move on, and this right here is what needs to happen if more are going to stop," Nihlus insisted.

Angling his head, Nihlus looked at the two through a pseudo-frame formed by his index finger and thumb like he was a photographer or vid director. By observing Nihlus's gestures, Jane understood how quickly he was able to get over the First Contact War as much as she didn't make a big deal out of it.

"Anyways, I'll be in back. This is gonna be good," he chuckled like a maniac as he walked to the back of the chamber, away from the platform in front of the Councilor's podiums.

Suspecting the Councilors would be arriving shortly, Saren and Jane stepped forward while facing the podiums. The Spectres were engaged in light banter before they arrived at their positions overlooking them.

"Jane Shepard, please step forward," Councilor Valern ordered.

After Saren nodded at her, Jane took a couple steps forward.

"In light of the couple of years prior, you have proven yourself to be increasingly self-reliant in whatever expertise you chose to pursue," Valern started, "for this reason, Arterius came forth and offered to prove your worth in combat and its many facets."

"Spectres are not trained, but their talent is hand-picked from the best a species has to offer," Tevos stated, "as is recognized by your mentor, you've succeeded where others failed, and have shown persistence in the face of stacked odds."

"I understand, Councilor," Jane nodded in agreement, keeping her spine straight.

"As a Spectre, you are to serve as our extended hand in maintaining galactic stability. Agents of the law. The pinnacle of what your kind can achieve. Until further notice, you are hereby recognized as a Spectre, Shepard," Sparatus finished.

Now that the Council made their speech, Jane knew that this was now the moment to swear her oath, so she placed her hand on her chest while she kept her other arm behind her back, having memorized the speech from Saren prior to the ceremony.

"I, Jane Shepard," she announced, "will do what I can as a Spectre to ensure the safety of the galaxy."

"Welcome to the Spectres, Jane Shepard. We trust you as the new hand of defense. This meeting is adjourned," Tevos concluded.

Saren wrapped his arm around her as the two left the podium and walked down the steps.

"I'm proud of you Jane," Saren praised, "I knew I'd see you up there some day."

Jane felt her chest swell with pride. At no point five years ago did she see herself living off of Earth or having earned herself such a prestigious title. With her induction accomplished, they had some time available before their next mission, even when they knew it would still be a while before the prejudice between turians and humans dwindled to the point there was no need to hold grudges. Nihlus slipped on a pair of shades as he approached them.

"If it's anything, I'm happy for the two of you," Nihlus commented.

"Thank you, Nihlus," Saren replied calmly.

"Saren, I just want to let you know that there should be no shame in loving that which you consider to be your enemy," Nihlus' omni-tool pinged with an incoming message as he turned to say, "speaking of which, that is my call. I'll see you two lateeeeeeer."

Nihlus quickly retreated to the elevator back down.

"So, this calls for an occasion," Saren suggested, "anything you wanted to do to celebrate?"

"Maybe we can go to someplace special," Jane suggested, placing her finger on her chin, "and after that, we can spend the evening in the sheets?"

The elevator hummed as they continued to ride their way down.

"I'd like the sound of that."

The elevator arrived at the base of the tower, leading them back to the Presidium. From there, they parted ways with the younger turian Spectre. Walking the other way, Saren gave one glance backwards as he watched Nihlus make greeting gestures towards someone just out of sight. Assuming Nihlus knew this person well, Saren shrugged off the thought. The two took a cab to the wards, feeling in the mood for something less fancy for lunch. It was a small noodle shop that had opened up a month prior to the ceremony that Saren was in the mood for trying out. Once they stepped into the shop, Jane took a moment to read the menu hovering above the counter. Sitting down at a table, Saren followed shortly after with cups of water and utensils. He raised his cup, prompting Jane to imitate him.

"Here's to a well-earned victory, Jane," Saren proposed, "I'm happy that you could join."

Nodding, Jane tapped her cup with Saren's before they took a sip of their water.

"You still have your mind set on trafficking operations?" Saren asked.

Jane nodded.

"That, and generally helping the Alliance do whatever I can to eventually stem the tide of poverty on Earth," Jane added, "at least until it's more manageable."

Saren nodded in agreement, reminiscing on the night they first met.

"Yeah, poverty is rather common on colonial worlds. However, I hadn't expected to see it that bad on your homeworld."

A short while later, their lunch orders arrived, so Jane and Saren started eating.

"Still, we've got the rest of the day before night properly falls. I was thinking of heading to the Armax Arena," Saren added.

After lunch, Saren and Jane headed over to the Armax Arena. Quickly suiting up in their gear, they entered a simulation of a cluster of small asteroids interlinked with prefab bridges amidst the cold dead vacuum of space. Setting the difficulty rating to 'hard', they were challenged by projections of heavily armed, unmarked projections from various races. They continued on for a few hours before slogging out of the arena to their apartment. After a brief evening meal, the sweat from the simulation was enough for them to suggest a shower. Saren offered to let Shepard go first, yet…

"Why not we both go in?" Jane suggested.

"I like the sound of that," he grinned, stripping his own clothes off.

Jane stripped herself before she led Saren into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. Stepping in himself, he reached his hand to the knob to turn it. They stood under the warm shower spray seconds later. Not focusing so much on the soap behind him, Saren craned his head down to Jane, meeting her lips with his. Jane returned the kiss while she wrapped her arms around his neck. Wrapping his hands around her hips, their tongues twisted around each other like ice dancers. Already, he felt the day building up to this moment, allowing him to come out of his plates a bit faster than normal. He still needed to prepare her first, though, so after Jane nodded at him, Saren slid one filed talon down her stomach until he reached between her legs.

He traced his talon around her folds, earning small, excited yelps from her. Jane tightened her grip while Saren licked at her neck and slid one of his talons inside her. As he continued to lick the side of her neck, be began to trace his finger along her inner wall, feeling the slickness as his member began to stiffen. She bucked her hips and nipped at his neck, not even trying to stifle her moans.

Sticking the other finger in, he spread her folds apart to make room for his tip to enter her. Taking the hint, Jane hooked one leg around his waist. Feeling her slide onto him, he didn't bother holding back his pleasured growls either. He hooked his hand to stabilize her before pulling back to start thrusting. Carnal thrills surged through her nerves as she arched her back and mewled in Saren's embrace. He began to adjust his stance as he picked up the tempo to keep them from slipping on the white tiles under their feet. The sensation of his ridges and spines brushing against her bundle of nerves built pressure inside her core, so she licked one of his mandibles. He felt his insides boil as the water continued to pour onto them, the friction continued to build, and as the blood coursed through his body. Amidst the thrusts, Jane pulled Saren into a kiss while he held her close.

He continued to growl through their kiss, quietly contemplating the bite mark on her shoulder. Sparatus knew and Nihlus said there was no shame in the matter, and was probably engaged with a human himself. Maybe it wouldn't be bad if he marked her right now? Jane massaged his neck with her hand, breaking off the kiss and leaning her head back while she kept her eyes locked onto Saren's.

"Would…you mind…if I…?" he craned his neck down to her shoulder, mouth just hovering over her collar bone.

"Go ahead," Jane panted, "I don't mind."

Adjusting his jaw, he slowly clamped down on her as he continued accelerating the rate at which he pumped his hips. In response, Jane tightened her leg around his waist and brushed her hand along the back of his neck. He continued his pace as he felt his climax building up. He struggled to keep his bite level, not wanting to bite deeper and hurt Jane. Even when maintaining the grip of his mandibles, their hormones mixed as Jane shuddered in her climax moments later. He let loose his grip on her and panted before speaking up again.

"For now, I'd prefer if we could take this elsewhere. I'd rather not slip during our moment of enjoyment."

Jane took a moment to catch her breath while Saren shut off the water.

"I guess I'm up for a second round in the bedroom," Jane nodded.

They quickly washed the grit and sweat off, but hadn't bothered putting on a change of clothes as Saren carried Jane in his arms up to their bedroom. They may have came down from their high while the older turian Spectre lay his mate onto the bed, but their libido hasn't worn off yet. Saren sat in the middle of the bed, allowing Jane to scoot closer to him and cup his face before she leaned in to kiss him. Joining for another kiss, Saren lifted a leg up and put himself over her.

While Jane rested her back on the bed, Saren hovered over her and gazed into her green eyes. The human Spectre hooked both her legs over his hips while her mate planted his hands on the bed and ground his hips between her thighs. He made no delay shoving right back in, confident she was ready and in desperate need of more. The ensuing gasp from her and the movements of her hips to sync with his pace encouraged him to continue. He shifted himself upward so he had a better angle, shoving into her. Tightening the grip of her legs, Jane located the amp nodes on Saren's body and brushed her hand against them.

Following her train of thought, Saren's body began to shimmer with blue energy, slowly starting to stimulate her senses. Jane cried out as she buried her face into his shoulder and the biotic field sent intense bliss into her nerves. He continued to pulsate with energy seeing that it earned him greater results with each thrust. She tilted her head and leaned in to kiss him. Saren met her lips as he reached closer and closer to his climax.

Pressure also built up in her stomach, her blush apparent on her freckled face and beads of sweat trickling along her skin. Using one hand, Jane brushed it along her small nub between her legs. Saren grew impatient as he moved faster and faster, angling himself for the most optimal results. Moments later, Jane cried out as she reached her climax and Saren released into her a split second later.

After they came down from their high, Saren withdrew from her before he stood from his bed and headed for the bathroom to retrieve dextro allergy meds. He handed the mess to Jane with a glass of water shortly afterwards. Once she washed down the meds and set the glass aside on the night stand, Saren climbed onto the bed and Jane scooted closer to him, allowing him to run his talons through her red hair. He gazed into her eyes, smiling as she returned her gaze.

"I love you, Saren," Jane whispered.

Jane scooted closer into Saren's gentle embrace.

"I love you too, Jane," he mumbled, holding her close.

Enjoying the serene moment of the artificial night sky out the window, they nestled under the covers.

"With you being the first human Spectre, how far do you see our relationship going?" Saren asked, continuing to enjoy the night sky.

Jane nuzzled her face against Saren's.

"I don't mind waiting a couple more years before we make our bond official on paper," Jane replied.

"If you'd be more comfortable with the long-game, I'm fine with that," he hummed, "we shouldn't take this too quickly."

Sleep started clouding their eyes, so Saren and Jane started dozing off.

* * *

The following morning, news of Jane's induction had already spread, and the Alliance already invited the two to a meeting concerning the Alliance's relations. By the time Anderson and Hackett arrived at the office building, Saren and Jane were there to greet them.

"Spectre Shepard, it's good to hear of your most recent accomplishment," Hackett greeted as Saren and Jane entered.

"Thank you, Admiral Hackett," Jane nodded.

"Now I don't want to force your hand with anything, but due to your unique position, we figured maybe we could at least establish an embassy on the Citadel," Anderson added.

By now, Saren, Jane, Anderson and Hackett stepped into an elevator.

"With Shepard as a Spectre, she'll need someone on the political side to represent the Alliance. We'll get to work on arrangements," Saren acknowledged.

Hackett folded his arms behind his hands.

"With all due respect, Arterius," Hackett asked, "who would you recommend as the human Councilor?"

"That depends. Who are the candidates?" Saren paused.

Anderson pinched the bridge of his nose.

"There's myself," Anderson clarified, "Ambassador Udina, and Admiral Hackett."

The answer was easy.

"Anderson," Saren offered, "I hope you can deal with the significant stress politics have to offer."

"That was…fast," Hackett hummed as he raised a brow.

"Simply put, I have respect for Anderson and trust he knows what he's doing," Saren added, "you're too important to give up your position, and I don't want to note all the flaws with Udina."

Anderson and Hackett exchanged glances. Captain Anderson was the first to break the silence.

"I've dealt with bigger messes before, Admiral," Anderson said.

"Godspeed, Captain. So it's decided."

Soon, the elevator reached its destination and its door opened, so Saren, Jane, Anderson and Hackett stepped out into the corridor.

"So, Spectre Shepard, what's your first act in the field going to be?" Anderson asked.

"Considering my background," Jane answered, "I'll be keeping an eye out for any trafficking operations that might be going on…and the homeless might need some help."

"With the vast majority of impoverished on Earth, I suggest looking at pirates and raiders at our fringe colonies. Resources heading back to Earth have troubles returning, and easily set us back," Hackett explained.

It wasn't long before Jane, Saren, Anderson and Hackett stepped into the office.

"Do you, at any point wish to achieve someone in the Council?" Saren inquired, "seeing your current motives…"

"We're not ready yet, Arterius," Anderson interrupted, "we still have yet to search for candidates, and I'm not jealous of the man or woman who is inevitably chosen for the job."

Saren nodded in agreement. Maybe humans could use a little more time before the Council could accept a human into their fold.


	24. Progress to the Sense of Hope

Since Jane had the experience she needed, she earned a chance to set off to a few missions of her own. Of course, there were times when she would team up with Saren for their joint missions, but when the missions were those she could accomplish on her own and were within her expertise, she had her own starship and even recruited Kelly, Joker, Garrus, Jack, Wrex and Zaeed with help from her mentor.

With the Alliance resources she had available, she managed to get a bigger, better vessel with a small crew. While Saren was in the middle of his own mission, Jane and her crew began preparing for an expedition to hunt down a trafficking ring in Alliance space. With any luck, Jane could send any resources they would find during the raid to charity. At the end of the day, she wasn't out to get rich, get famous, or a sense of self-righteousness. She knew she was lucky when she left Earth, and wanted to start evening the playing field…or at least get the ball rolling. Through there, she and her crew found some common ground, so Joker maneuvered the Archangel out of the docks and it left the Citadel, making its way to the Mass Relay.

"All right, Jane. We'll be at Horizon in a few hours," Jeff hummed as his fingers slid over the ship controls like a pianist would with a keyboard.

Jane nodded at Joker before she peered through the windshield. They watched as bolts of energy reached out from the relay and catapulted them into the distance. A while later, the Archangel emerged from another relay and continued flying through space. Intel suggested any remaining ties to the Alliance had been severed on the colony, yielding complete control to a small trafficking ring. Dozens of possibilities as to how that occurred seemed reasonable in Jane's head, yet she would have to clarify at least one of these reasons. The mission was simple: get in, verify the intel, dismantle the ring if one was present, and see to the contents are handed to proper authorities, whatever form of contraband it may be. Before long, the Archangel arrived at Horizon and began entering its atmosphere.

"All right," Jane announced as she stood to her feet, "we have fifteen minutes before deployment. Garrus, Jack, suit up."

Upon cue, Garrus and Jack began gearing up while Jane inspected her weapons. Once her squad was ready, Garrus met up with Kelly at the bridge. The group had fully suited up and carried their full kit of equipment with them save for Jack, who insisted wearing civies and solely depending on her barriers for protection. Considering how Jack had incredible skills with her biotics and how she got them, Jane understood why Jack would insist on her suggestion. By the time the ship made its landing, Joker tapped on the console and opened the ramp and Kelly gave Garrus a kiss on his mandible.

"You take care, Garrus," she insisted.

"Yeah, thanks," Garrus chuckled before he continued on his way out.

They had landed on the fringe of the colony to maintain some level of stealth going in. Once the coast was clear, Jane, Garrus and Jack ventured forth through the trees. They kept low until they reached a small shipping area, with shuttles having recently landed. They even used the shrubbery to their advantage as it provided them cover in the midst of their stealthy moves. The nearby guards were too distracted with watching the covered women in holo-collars walking out single file to the back of a flat-bed truck. Having confirmed what these criminals were trafficking, Jane knew she would have to form a strategy right off the bat.

"Fast and quiet, Garrus," she ordered, making a gesture to him.

Quickly snapping on a suppressor onto the barrel of his rifle, Garrus quickly picked off the furthest guards in succession while Jane and Jack took care of everyone nearby. With the guards dead, Garrus quickly radioed their ship.

"Archangel, this is Blue Eagle," he said, "we've got multiple civilians down here who need extraction. Relaying coordinates."

 _{You got it, Blue Eagle,}_ Joker replied over the com link.

Garrus and Jane continued to chaperone away the women when Jack heard activity sparkle over the fallen guards' radios. Reaching down to pick one up, she listened to the voices chattering away.

_{Hardpoint Shadow, this is Overwatch. We've lost contact with Hunter 6. Detach, sweep, and confirm.}_

_{Copy that.}_

She kept silent as she heard the metallic, monotone voices speak. All the while, Jack clenched her fists.

"Jack, what's the matter?" Jane asked, as their shuttle lifted off behind them.

"These guys keep closer-knit security than anticipated," the biotic replied, tossing aside the radio.

Garrus didn't seem fazed.

"I hardly see that as a problem," he commented.

Jane scanned her surroundings, laying her eyes on the trafficked victims for a moment.

"Let's get them to safety and keep moving," Jane advised.

Upon cue, Jack and Garrus assisted Jane in helping the women to their feet. By the time they had placed the women in a safe position for pickup, the local militia was a mere sixty seconds away. Sticking to the side of the road in the bushes, they watched a van with armed personnel drove by. Once the van stopped in its tracks, Alliance soldiers emerged from the van.

"Shit. The hell happened? They better not be enjoying the produce again," one grumbled as he turned the safety off.

One Alliance soldier approached one of the women and placed her arm over his shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get them to safety before they spot us," another huffed.

With that, the Alliance soldiers began escorting the women to safety while Jane, Garrus and Jack kept an eye out for any slavers that might be on patrol. Just seconds after the Alliance soldiers crawled off, a small group of unidentified armed men arrived.

"Were those our guys?" Jack asked.

Jane nodded and began to emerge from the shrubbery. Jack threw a biotic blast at the group to knock them off their feet, and then the trio finished the guards off before they could raise an alarm. Having cleared the area, Jane, Jack and Garrus searched them and their vehicles for any valuables.

"That's everything. Let's keep moving. Look for an administration building, and we'll start on unraveling this branch," Jane ordered, moving back to the road.

Jane, Garrus and Jack ventured along the path between the trees. The farm colony wasn't nearly as active as the likes of Eden Prime and bad one-fifth the population, clearly showing as the fine details didn't have nearly as much polish as was the case with most human colonies out in the Terminus Systems. Based on this, any of the buildings they passed by could be the administration building they were looking for. Quickly checking both ways before crossing the street, they rushed across to enter the building from a back door.

The team continued around the back of the building before looking back to make sure they weren't spotted. Looking to a window not too far up, Jane jumped and grabbed the windowsill and pulled herself up to peek inside. With the coast clear, Jane gestured Garrus and Jack to follow her before she climbed through the window. There were a surprising amount of women in chains about the area with plenty of guards and accountants waiting around to make sure each one stayed in line. Jane suppressed her outrage by clenching her fist. Fortunately, the guards had long since become complacent, and they could slip through unnoticed into the higher levels of the compound. They ventured through the corridor in search of the main office. Jane, Jack, and Garrus formed outside of the door, prepared to breach the room.

"Alright, I'll toss in the flash," Jane instructed, "Garrus, you'll be heading in with me to eliminate any Op4 we find in there. Jack, watch our flank unless we've been compromised."

Garrus and Jack nodded in approval as Jane threw open the door and tossed in the grenade. Hearing the loud thunderous crack seconds later and the panicked yells of those inside, Jane and Garrus charged in and gunned down two men each, leaving the man at the desk alone.

"Wh-What the hell is this?!" the man at the desk exclaimed.

"Judgment's call. Now get off your ass," Jane hissed, yanking the man up by his shirt collar.

"Judgment?!" the man protested, trying to yank himself off the human Spectre's grip, "I'm not doing anything fraudulent!"

"Holding individuals against their will and selling them off as products isn't exactly innocent, either," Garrus grumbled as he shot an approaching guard.

Giving the man fierce eyes, Jane pinned him against the wall with one hand. She slapped on some holocuffs around his wrists.

"Still," she replied, "this is violating plenty of civil rights laws within numerous Alliance territories. This may be deep in the Terminus, but I'm not letting the likes of you drag more people into this."

The man in the business suit glared at Jane. Jack threw a biotic blast out the door, knocking over another squad of slavers like bowling pins as they ran up to investigate the ruckus while Garrus took potshots at the group while they still recovered. With these guards out of the way, Jane began escorting the crook out of the office.

 _{Hey Jane, I'm seeing multiple hostiles closing in from above. Need support fire?}_ Jeff asked over coms.

"Negative. We've got more victims down here. Drop another team in the Mako," she answered as Jack guided them out with a biotic barrier.

 _{Copy that,}_ Joker nodded over the coms.

Making their way back down the stairs, she kept the syndicate head in front with Jack maintaining the barrier and Garrus blasting away any slavers who came within sight. After a while of meandering through the corridors, they all made it out through the door. The nearby slavers had already set a barricade using their vehicles not too far outside of the compound when the Mako landed on the ground not too far from their position, ramming through a few of the trucks and flattening some of the opposition. This gave Jane and her squad an advantage. As the cannon fired at another approaching truck, Wrex rolled out the back of the vehicle and joined the fight with Garrus, Jane, and Jack under the biotic barrier.

"I see you managed to hold out well," Wrex said.

"Any reason you would've expected otherwise?" Jack quipped, "also, we still have a bunch more people to ship out just inside."

Wrex nodded in acknowledgement before he charged at one of the guards near the door. The Mako proved to be increasingly helpful as more slavers converged on their location. It also became pretty apparent that the slaver group didn't expect any attackers outside of normal infantry, given the incredibly low number of anti-tank infantry and the complete lack of any armor protecting the colony. This was the chance to move to the next objective.

"Archangel, what's it looks like from up there?" Jane asked.

 _{They're pulling back for now. You've managed to whittle down most of them, but they're quickly regrouping. Orders?}_ Jeff answered.

"Prep the shuttles," Jane ordered, "Red Oxen is fetching more of the victims. We'll try and fly them out until we can properly secure this colony, and get things back under Alliance control. We've also got a VIP here, used to run the place. We'll be sending him up as well with the first shipment. Throw him in the brig and have a squad keep an eye on him."

 _{Roger that,}_ Joker nodded.

Two shuttles returned to the colony, deploying a single squad as Wrex began to escort a dozen women out at a time. Jack followed the Alliance troops closely behind as she put a bag over the head of the businessman and sat him down alongside the others in one of the shuttles.

"This is Zero, the shuttles are away, ETA seven minutes," Jack informed.

It didn't take long for Jane and her team to empty the administration building. A couple other Alliance soldiers exited the Mako once they parked right beside Jane's squad.

"Hold this position until the remaining captives have been extracted. Catch up to us if the colony is still occupied. We'll report and extract once this place is secure."

"Right away, ma'am," one of the Alliance soldiers saluted.

The other slavers hadn't known to start taking hostages and continued to hopelessly hold against a team who was infinitely better trained than they could ever hope to be. Taking point, Jane rolled from cover to cover, hiding behind prefabs to reload, cock grenades, or let her shields recharge. She took narrow moments to peek from cover and take out any unsuspecting slavers. Jack followed closely behind to provide biotic power and Garrus hung back to provide cover through his deadly scope. This gave Alliance reinforcements a chance to continue extracting the captives. They continued to extract additional slaves who were being kept locked up in a few of the prefabs while continuing to cut down on the slaver populace. The few who did surrender were treated as such, forced onto their fronts as Wrex slapped holocuffs onto them.

By the time they extracted the remaining of the captives, they started escorting them towards the shuttles, complete with their mission. Now all that was left was to return to the Citadel. She was tired, and it had been a long, hard fight.

"Joker, get the report in and get us out of here. I've had enough of this colony."

The shuttles took off and hovered along the way to the Archangel. They'd been hunting down the man they just took captive for a few months now. He had ties to some very powerful individuals within his organization, and as such was imperative to her cause. Once the shuttles returned to the Archangel, Jane confirmed with her crew that this man was sitting in the brig, so she stepped over to the bridge to send a report. Composing the message and sending it to both the Council and the Alliance, she headed down to the mess hall to check in with her teammates. On one table, Jane could see Kelly wiping the grime off of Garrus's fringe. Jane couldn't help but smile watching the two develop such a bond. She served herself a meal before she sat down next to Zaeed.

"C'mon, sit still Garrus," Kelly whined.

Garrus wasn't entirely too enthusiastic about interacting with Kelly as such in public.

"C'mon, does it _**have**_ to be right here?" Garrus sighed.

Kelly nodded eagerly.

"Rotten little bugger looks nice behind bars," Zaeed chuckled, "good thing he's getting what's coming to him."

"Just as much as the others guilty of the same crime," Jane agreed.

Kelly sighed.

"Hard to believe that crew managed to gain so many employees," she replied, "I would've thought we'd be past this stage of history. The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?"

Jane and Zaeed exchanged glances in between bites.

"Does it matter?" Zaeed shrugged, "assholes are going to assholes, and it's our job to constantly make sure those wankers get what's comin' to 'em."

Along the way, the Archangel arrived at an Alliance station, where Jane handed the confiscated contraband to Alliance authorities and donated most of the credits she and her team looted to an organization dedicated to assisting the impoverished and the homeless. Once she completed this task, the Archangel continued its voyage.

* * *

Hours later, the Archangel emerged from the Mass Relay in the Serpent Nebula and made its way to the Citadel. Once it reached the station, it began latching onto the docks with Saren, Nihlus and Ashley anticipating Shepard's arrival. Once the ramp opened up, Jane was the first to emerge from the ship. Her eyes lit up when she caught a glimpse of her mentor.

"Saren!" she gasped to herself.

"Welcome back, Shepard," Saren greeted.

Jane approached Saren and nodded at him before they shook hands.

"How've you been?" Jane asked.

"Busy as usual," Saren vaguely hummed.

"Likewise," Jane nodded.

"Ah! Jane! Nice to see you've returned safely!" Nihlus greeted.

Strangely, the younger turian Spectre lacked any sort of quip to follow with. Jane exchanged glances between Nihlus and Ashley before she took turns shaking their hands.

"So how have you two been doing?" she asked.

Saren let loose a sly grin as he elbowed Nihlus.

"Go on. This still is important for both sides, no?" Saren beckoned.

Nihlus scratched the back of his neck.

"Wweeeelll, you see, Ashley and I have agreed to tie the knot," Nihlus explained, "we're still making arrangements."

By now, Garrus and Wrex escorted their prisoners out of the Archangel and onto the docks.

"Are you going to ask me for advice on wedding dresses?" Jane pondered, "I must warn you, they're not part of my expertise."

"It's sort of a mixed culture thing," Ashley commented, "I mean, I have no issue slapping on a turian dress if it calls for it, however we're just looking for the right mix of one culture and the other."

Moments later, Jack and Kelly emerged from the Archangel and they caught only a snippet of the conversation between Nihlus, Jane and Ashley.

"I mean, you can take the time to deposit your cargo. Besides, we're still stuck on this anyways," Nihlus finished.

"What's the holdup?" Kelly butted in.

"It's…a turian-human wedding…" Ashley started, "we're mostly thinking about cross-culture issues."

The intelligence officer hummed at the prospect.

"Actually," Kelly offered, "I could help with the matter."

"You know a wedding bouquet here at the station?" Jane asked.

"I wasn't talking about the wedding bouquet, that's just a few taps away," Kelly clarified, "I was talking about some wedding ideas."

Nihlus let out an enthusiastic hum.

"Go on," he beckoned.

* * *

A couple of hours later, after sending the women to Huerta and the slavers to C-Sec, Kelly was starting by helping Nihlus and Ashley shop for wedding attire.

"The point is to insinuate that both cultures are capable of mingling and that it is acceptable to dwell within the culture of the other species," she explained.

Nihlus had already taken up on the idea and was wearing a tuxedo fitted for his own body.

"Hmmm, I can definitely see the appeal in this suit," Nihlus mused, "even if it's a little tight."

Ashley, meanwhile, browsed through the wedding dresses on display. She found the turian dresses to be much more artistic than the plain white of human design.

"This actually might be an idea to get behind," she chuckled as she picked out one of the various colors.

It bore a deep blue as the primary color with a sand green as a tertiary color. Now she would have to figure out how to customize it to better fit a human. Fifteen minutes later, they were at the cashier register, placing orders for their respective suits designed for their own physiology. Once they made their payment, they all stepped out of the shop. Saren and Jane watched from a distance as Nihlus, Ashley, and Kelly left the store. They felt envious the as the younger turian Spectre and Alliance Soldier continued on with their plans for their happy future together.

"Is it bad when I say I'm glad they're the couple heading this effort?" Saren asked.

Jane shook her head and took Saren's hand into her own.

"We both have a life together as well, remember?" Jane reminded.

"Yeah, but the most we'll get at our rate is awkward glances and possibly a few curses," Saren nodded, "these two are getting the whole spectrum of public attention and possibly media coverage if it gets enough momentum."

Jane nodded as she and Saren strolled through the wards side by side.

"If we do get married," Jane pondered, "are you ok with keeping it simple?"

Saren hesitated.

"That depends. What's your definition of extravagant?"

"I hear extravagant means you put a fortune to your wedding," Jane shrugged, "such as an expensive dress and a fairy tale venue, for example. It's not really my thing, though."

"I agree. If it's just a small outing between either ourselves or a handful of friends, that's good enough," Saren commented.

By the time Nihlus's wedding came to pass a few months later, it was deemed safe for Saren and Jane to open up about their relationship. To their luck, there wasn't much criticism from the public. Humans and turians had finally let loose their past grudges and were more accepting of each other in public. Cases like that between Nihlus and Ashley, Garrus and Kelly or Saren and Jane were still rare, and would be for some time longer. When it all came down to it, it was worth having the most unlikely of strangers of both races to meet to push this progress forward.


End file.
